Tales of Remnant: rise of the rider
by Locke62
Summary: This is a continuation of my first ever fanfic, RWBY: rebirth. Over a decade after the story of John, his life starts to fall apart. Journey with his son Max on his tale to find out the whereabouts of his missing parents, the white fangs involvement, and a creature that was mistaken and hunted for a grim. All of this trouble stems from one question; what happened to Blake Belladona
1. Chapter 1

"Mom, can I come with this time?" Blake turned away from the door. She had been about to head out on her assignment when her son Max grabbed onto her arm. The ten year olds messy black hair did little to hide his light brown eyes. His cat ears on his head twitched as he listened for his father.

"Has your dad rated you for battle yet?" She asked, fully knowing the answer. John was a good teacher, but he preferred to take the slow route to make sure that the answer would remain no for a long time.

"No." The little boy admitted. "But he says that I am a natural." He then added hopefully.

"Oh? And that means you can master the art without any effort now does it?" John popped into existence directly behind his son, an amused look in his eyes. And when he popped into existence, he truly did come out of thin air.

"D-dad." Max stuttered, looking up at him. John stood at 6'9, almost seven feet tall. He had brown eyes and black hair, just like his son. He was extremely skinny, and it didn't help that he preferred to wear baggy shirts.

"You need a hair cut, little man." John said, ruffling up his hair. Max pushed him off, puffing out his chest in an attempt to look bigger.

"I'm grown up now. I want to go with mom on a mission." Max said confidently. In response, his fathers hand shot out and poked him in the chest, applying just enough force to nock him down.

"Max, as a high ranking hunter myself, I can tell you now that grim way harder than that." John knelt down in front of the boy, looking into his eyes. "I don't want you to go down because I allowed you to go." Max nodded, understanding what he was saying.

"I'll take you with me when you're ready." Blake said, clasping her hand on his shoulder and beaming proudly at her son. Max stepped back, allowing his mom to open the door. John and Blake nodded to each other, information passing silently between them. Blake waved as she walked out the door, calling behind her. "I'll be back in a few days. Watch your sister for me."

The door closed, and that was the last he ever saw of his mother.

.(time skip)

Max was knocked into the dirt, his stick flipping through the air and landing next to him. "Get up." John ordered. The thirteen year old got back to his feet, glaring at his father. "Unless you're injured, you have no reason to stay down."

"Easy for you to say." Max muttered darkly. "You never lose. I'm pretty sure that's why mom left." John's eyes darkened, an unusual look of doubt flashing in them. Max rushed forward and began his assault, slashing and stabbing with his stick. John effortlessly mocked each strike away from him, his black sword _midnight_ moving into the required position as if it had its own mind.

John struck Max in the chest with an open palm strike, nocking him down again. "Get up." He ordered, moving back to his starting position.

"No. I'm done." Max spat. He threw away his stick and got to his feet. "There's no point in losing constantly." He turned to walk into the house, but his father materialized in front of the door.

"If there was no point, I would have let you win by now." His arms were crossed, his sword having disappeared. "Tell me, are you as slow as you were three years ago? Are you as clumsy or uncoordinated?"

"Of course not!" Max shouted angrily. "But what point is it if I still can't win?" His father frowned, disappointed in the boys answer. He shot his hand out to the side, his sword appearing in his hand. He spun it a few times before planting it in the ground.

"Pull it out. Then you can go inside." He backed away and leaned against the door, watching his son with the eyes of a hawk. Max walked forward and yanked the weapon out of the ground, staggering under its weight. John let out a sigh and the blade disappeared. He moved aside letting the disgruntled teen walk past him.

"He got the stubbornness from you, you know." John tilted his head to the side, looking at Angela. His daughter had long brunette hair, her ears light orange. Combined with the golden eyes, she reminded him a lot of her mother. "I know why you make him draw that sword each day."

"Oh?"

"That sword isn't a normal sword. It's alive, and it chooses its wielder." She stated walking over to him. There was an intelligent sparkle in her eyes, reminding him of Dumbledore. "You designed it that way when you came through."

"And how would you know about that?" John was impressed by her knowledge. Very few people even knew that he didn't belong in Remnant. Angela didn't answer him, instead a series of his memories were forcefully played in his head. Once they finished, a shadow appeared in her hand and his sword came into existence again.

"Your semblance is _Specter_ , rather appropriate since you died in your work and came here. It gives you the ability of a ghost, walking through walls, temporarily weightlessness, shadow manipulation, and telepathy to name a few." She listed off the facts like she knew them her whole life.

"Ok, smart one. Do you mean to tell me that you have my semblance?" The teen girl nodded, he knowing eyes glossing over. John's expression soften and he pulled her in for a hug. Even though she was so close to the edge, not a single tear fell. "How much did you see?" He asked softly.

"All of it." She sobbed softly. She held her tears in, but John could feel the sadness wafting off of her. "If you loved her that much, why didn't you go after her?" John began rocking back and forth, adding a comforting pressure.

"Because she would have beat the shit out of me if I abandoned you two." He said softly, putting a kiss on the top of her head. He held her for a few more minutes, before he released her. Angela's eyes were dry now, no sign of sadness left in them. _Just like her mother. Just like Carmon._ His thoughts turned to his long dead sister, before she went evil. He chuckled slightly to himself, remembering when she taught him just as he was teaching his son.

"Come. What do you want for dinner." He said while entering the house, his mind clearing as unwelcome thoughts began to form. _And get out of my head. It's a two way link, you know._

(fast forward a few hours)

Max laid in his bed, anger and frustration over his recent losses weighing heavily on his mind. _And I thought today would be the day!_ So much for being able to go look for mom. His father had told him he could go as soon as he could win, and it felt like his whole life was just out of his reach.

Slowly, the teen drifted to sleep, dreaming of being with his mother again. In his dream, his dad hadn't stopped him that day and he had gone with. It was a recovery mission, and they traveled to a town a long way away from home. They then proceed to head to a mountain region to gather some herbs that we're need to make medicine, fighting grim along the way. Half way through collecting the plants, an explosion shook the mountain nocking him off his feet. In a daze, he looked for his mom, but she was nowhere to be found. He got to his feet, but another explosion brought him back to his knees.

"Get up." Max looked up at his father, confusion and anger in his eyes. "Unless you're injured, you have no reason to be down." Max just glared at him.

"You made her go away again." He said darkly, hatred boiling inside him. "Why do you hate her so much?"

John opened his mouth again, but this time his sister's voice came out. "For god sake, get up. We need to run." The world shook violently, more explosions going off. A sudden pain in the side of the head brought him out of his dream. Max sat up, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. His sister stood next to his bed, her fist raised to hit him again. A strange glow filled the room, the light moving in a swaying motion. Plus, it was really hot.

Max opened his mouth to speak but an explosion shook the building, bits of ceiling falling down. "Get your but out of bed and run!" His sister grabbed his arm and ran, dragging him until he could get his feet under him. They ran across the street and to their neighbors house, where they took cover behind one of the corners. The sight of their home caused terror to strike Max's heart.

Their house was on fire. Shadows dashed around, white blurs chasing one blue and black figure. Every time they met, there was a series of loud metallic noises and the white one would fall down, often covered in red. "Is that..."

"Dad's fighting right now." Angela said, not removing her eyes from the combatants. Their father stopped moving for a second, and three gunshot rang out. Three explosions engulfed their targets, not even giving them time to scream. The teens watched as the fight raged on, a seemingly endless supply of enemies attacking their father. They watched in awe and fear as the destruction reached its peak, men dropping like flies.

An arm wrapped itself around Max's throat, choking him. He looked over to Angela, who was in the same predicament. "Stop fighting!" A voice behind him yelled. "Stop fighting! I have your kids!" His words were in vein, however, as John ran the last grunt through with Midnight. He straightened up and glared at the man.

A tall, red haired man in a hawk mask walked past them. He was dressed in black, a thin sword was buckled to his waist. John's eyes darkened at the sight of him, fury burning just as brightly as the house. He disappeared, only to show up directly in front of the man. "What are you doing here?" He growled.

"The question is, why didn't you come for Blake?" John's eyes widened, but only briefly. His hand shot out to grab the man, who dodged backwards.

"What did you do to her?" Both of them reached for their swords, John pausing when he saw the man mirror his actions. He never paused. The man smirked at this.

"How about you come with me and find out." He said darkly. "Or I can kill these two abominations behind me." They held their positions for a whole minute as John tried to work out how to approach this challenge. Finally, he returned his weapon to his shadow. "Let's go."

The men holding the teens let go and Max fell to the ground coughing. Then a sudden force in the back of his head knocked him out cold.


	2. Chapter 2: the calling

"Hey sis, I'm back." Max called as he opened the front door, taking off his shoes and coat in the hall. On his waist was a steel long sword, bland and simple.

"Welcome back." Angela poked her head around the corner of the living room, greetings her brother. "How did the lessons go?"

"Let's just say I have more respect for dad." He collapsed in his favorite chair, exhausted from dealing with all the kids who came to learn from him. "How did he deal with me three years ago? Kids are terrible."

"Well, he did raise us." Angela put down her book and went to the kitchen, coming back with a cup of coffee which she gave to her brother. Max accepted it gratefully, downing the drink quickly.

It has been three years since the attack, three years since their dad had left them. Max still hated the man, but after a few years of thinking, he felt sorry for the guy. He and his sister often got into fights over the topic, but he was just as stubborn as his father. Even if his sister always won.

Max had gotten a job in a combat school, teaching sword play to those willing to learn. He was now we'll know for being superior than most, his speed and dexterity far better than the other staff. He was one of the most popular private teacher, sometimes just having sparring matches with the students.

Angela, on the other hand, opted to stay in school. Aided by her semblance Mimic, she had an uncanny ability to remember absolutely everything thing, making her one of the worst people to disagree with, for she would make an absolute fool out of them. She said she wanted to be a teacher in the future.

Angela glanced at his sword, a look of disappointment on her face. "Why don't you use Midnight?" As if on cue, the black sword appeared on the coffee table. Max glared at the blade and waved his hand, making it disappeared. Both children had inherited their fathers semblance for some reason, making them able to use his powers. But the scary part was, it wasn't their only semblance. They just inherited their fathers semblance because they were children of two dimensions, the world of remnant and the world of earth. This was found out when Max set fire to himself when he tried to use shadow travel.

"You know just as well as I do that I will never use that man's sword." Max brought his cup into the kitchen and put it in the sink, ignoring the look he was receiving from his sister. He then proceeded to him room, were he sat down in the chair at his desk and began maintenance on his weapon. "Sometimes I wish I could challenge her to a fight. It's not my fault that she learned to win from my useless father." With a whetstone, he began to sharpen the edge of the blade, taking special care of the nicks and scratches.

Once he finished the necessary maintenance, he placed the blade in its sheath and leaned it against the wall. He leaned back in his chair, suddenly bored. He glanced around the room looking for something to do. The room was almost empty since most of his money went to keeping the house and putting food on the table. The only TV in the house was in the living room (shocking, I know) which his sister was currently residing in. A skateboard laid on the ground in the corner, but the wind outside would bring him to a dead stop going down hill. The tip of a magazine peaked out from under his bed and he quickly kicked it farther back.

Max walked out to the living room and picked up one of the gaming controllers, turning on his dad's old Xbox as he sat down on the couch. Angela shot a glance over at him and returned to her book. Max took that as permission to play halo. The game booted up and he dove right into the campaign, using well rehearsed tactics and owning the battlefield. His father would have shrugged it off and claimed he was only playing on hard mode, but Max still thought himself impressive.

"You hate your dad." Angela said, watching as he quickly dispatched an elite on halo 4. "But you use the money he left you, his semblance, and his gaming system?"

"So what?" Max said, not taking his eyes off of his targets.

Angela rolled her eyes and picked up another controller. "You're despicable. Let me in." Max obliged, leaving his match so she could join. Angela put her finger on the button, paused, and pulled a circle shaped devise out of the shadow and tossed it to him. Max cringed and handed her his controller, putting the device in his hand.

"Another punishment game?" He asked, taking deep breaths to try to slow his racing heart.

"No. Just training." Angela selected the first mission and set it to hard, turning on grunt birthday party for extra fun. The countdown started, and she looked him square in the eye and smiled. "I mean, _he_ could do it with ease." The game started and the world went black.

Max woke up in a cryopod, watching his sister open her pod and collecting cortana. He then opened his and fell out with a clunk. (To the new comers here, the devise transfers the players mind into the game. Kind of like Sao without the fatal part.) he got to his feet and leveled his rifle, taking the lead.

The game progressed smoothly (apart from when he was forced to climb the elevator. "This is not easy!") Max had minimal difficulty with the enemies (he hid behind every corner and crate and poked his head out, hitting the weaker ones as Angela did most of the work.) and the level ended with him falling out of the sky to requiem. (Thank god that you don't feel the pain.)

"What is taking you so long?" Max asked over the com, waiting by the tunnel at the beginning of the level. Angela didn't respond, instead running up to him with a saw in hand and a fuel rod cannon on her back. "Where did you get those?"

"I bothered to pay attention to dad playing." Her voice came over the com. Max sighed and took point, running down the tunnel and getting the first sight of requiem. The other chief carried on, but Max had to stop and take in the view.

"I see why dad always stopped here." He said to himself, taking in the sight of the forerunner planet. He then took off running, catching up to his sister in the crashed ship as she jumped in the driver seat of the warthog. Max grabbed ammo and switched his pistol for the battle rifle quick and climbed into the gunner.

The warthog bounced down the slope, Angela faithfully driving like a professional. Cortana was doing her usual speech causing Max's visor to flicker, when suddenly the world went offaly quite. He clicked the coms, trying to get word to his sister that the game was malfunctioning, but all he got was static.

A faint whisper entered his head. "Your a good shot with that. You have learned well." The sleepy voice said. "You will do just fine." He felt a weak pull in the back of his mind, as if it were trying to pull him out of the game but failing badly.

"Hey sis, is everything alright on your end?" He tried the coms again, only getting static. Instead, they existed the path/ tunnel and started barreling towards the enemies. Max snapped out of his thoughts about the voice and engaged, blocking out the unfamiliar presence. Angela focused on running over what she could and he gunned down anyone that dodged out of the way. It wasn't until after they beat the level and he was released from the game that he remembered the voice.

Later that night, Max collapsed on his bed dreading the next day when he had to go to work. The thought of the slow, unchallenging matches zapped his energy in itself. Needless to say, he found sleep rather easily.

In his dream, Max was floating in a dark place awaiting for his brain to choose what he was going to dream about. He often came here, before a slip of the mind sent him elsewhere. It was comfortably warm, which probably made no sense because it was an infinite empty space but who sweats the details?

his thoughts drifted to the last time his mom had held him like this and the area around him began to change. He zoomed forward, Blake visible just farther ahead. Excitement flooded through Max's being, a deep longing pushing it. He drifted to a stop in front of her, her smile just as he remembered. He reached out and touched her face, word of love and sorrow on his tongue, when his mother shattered like glass.

Max looked around in a panic. He suddenly found himself in some kind of underground coliseum, blood smeared all over the ground. There were stone risers surrounding three fourths of the room, a large gate on the last wall. Max just about hurled at the stench.

"What's going on?" Max shouted, glancing around the room in search of a reason why he would come here.

"Because we need you." The voice from earlier said, a bit louder than a whisper this time. "When a child's parents need him, it would be best to head their call." The voice sounded old and tired, as if it could barely stay awake.

"Mom?" Max said hesitantly, looking around for the source of the voice. "Is that you?"

"Your mom can't call out telepathically. That's your father." The voice was getting fainter. "But we are together. Me, your father, and your mom." The stone began to turn to a light gray smoke, slowly disappearing from existence.

"Where are you? Where do I have to go?" Max called out turning in a circle, desperate to get a sight of the source of the voice (maybe just to punch him in the face).

The voice was now barely audible. "You must go to an island about forty miles off of the coast of Remnant. They call it dragons reach for its tendency of having storms as violent as a dragon." The world suddenly shattered, the pieces dissolving into gray wisps. "Hurry."

Max sat up at the speed of a bullet, throwing the covers off of himself as he got out of his bed. The clock on the wall read 3:32 in the morning. Time to wake up his sister.


	3. The meaning behind past actions

"Forgive me please!" Max shouted as he ran from the room, narrowly avoiding getting decapitated by his sisters shoe.

Angela walked out of her room, her white night gown billowing behind her like a demon lords cape. "You have five seconds to explain why you woke me. Now talk." If Max wasn't the one with the fire semblance, he was have been convinced she incinerate him were he cowered on the floor,

"I-I had a dream." He stammered, the heat of her glare burning him.

"You woke me because you had a nightmare?" Angela walked forward like a phantom of death, coming to drag him to the afterlife. Max raised his arms in defense, knowing full well that it wouldn't save him if she chose to use _Midnight_ , seeing as it was the only blade in existence that could cut clean through aura.

Sure enough, the black long sword appeared in her hands, causing her to stumble under its weight. Max panicked, drawing the last card he had up his sleeve. "I think it was from dad!" He cried, closing his eyes in anticipation as Angela raised the sword.

Angela paused, still holding the sword above him. "Explain." Max explained what had happened and relayed his instructions to her. She lowered the sword, pondering the new development.

 _Dear god, and she takes after her mom, does she? I have so much more respect for dad now._ He was starting to doubt the tale of Nora breaking his legs, now wondering if he had just woke up mom. _Cats just aren't morning people._

Angela gave the blade a spin and then returned it to her shadow and spun around, marching back to her room. "Get dressed. We're going." Max scrambled to his feet, rushing to his room to get dressed. His parents were obviously crazy to name such a demon after an angel.

Max switched into a sturdy army jacket and black jeans, buckling his sword and sheath to his waist. Be grabbed his bag, which was a camo army satchel and put some of his equipment in it. Mainly his repair and maintenance supplies.

He walked out to the living room and found his sister already there, garbed in a dark green shirt with a golden star on her left shoulder. She wore blue sweat pants and her tennis shoes. She gave him a quick glance over. "A purse?"

"Satchel. A purse is used for women's everyday storage, a satchel is used commonly by the military to carry food, water, ammunition. You know, the works." Max explained. "These are also far more durable."

Angela shrugged. "Fair enough." Max got some water bottles out of the cabinet in the kitchen along with some standard medical equipment from the bathroom. When he finished packing, he found his sis in the kitchen with her scroll open, in the middle of a video call. He passed by quietly so not to interrupt her and put his shoes on.

Max opened the garage and pulled out their bikes. Since both of them were 15, neither of them were old enough to have a license. He had just finished checking the air in the tires when Angela came out, already spouting orders.

"Saddle up. We're taking a long trek up to Beacon." Max didn't understand what was going on, but he stayed silent and followed her order. They biked silently for an hour and a half, their faunus eyes allowing them to see when a common human couldn't.

They left their bikes against a tree in the court yard, a fire emblem carved into the trunk. The door was unlocked and they made their way to the top floor to Ozpin's office. Their they found the headmaster behind his desk, a great deal older than the picture their parents showed them. His grey hair was a lighter shade and he had acquired a collection of wrinkles on his brow, but other than that he looked good for his age.

"Welcome children." Ozpin greeted them, taking a sip of his coffee, then asked in a tired tone. "Do you know why I told you to come here when you called me?" Max shook his head and Angela sat quietly in her seat. Ozpin sighed, putting down his coffee and putting his hands together.

"Me and your father grew rather close during the time we knew each other." Ozpin stated. "He had all intentions of sending you, Max, to this school."

"And what does that have to do with anything?" Max said coolly, making it clear he didn't want to be here. Angela rolled her eyes at her brother's outburst.

"It means he did what he always did. He planned ahead." Ozpin got out of his seat and walked to his private study, coming back with a long, slender package. "He asked me to give this to you when you first entered the school." Max took the box and unwrapped it, eyes widening when he saw the contents.

Inside the bow was a curved one handed sword. The metal was as bright as silver, curving slightly from the tip to the pommel. The hilt had a hand guard that would protect the back of his fingers and hand. In the pommel sat a flawless sapphire. As he picked up the saber, it seems to hum with life. _And it was as light as a feather._

"How?" Max asked, testing the weapons balance with a few practiced movements. The blade responded exactly how he wanted to, almost as if it were alive. He picked up deep blue sheath and belted it to his left side, seeing as his sword was on his right.

"As John received his sword at birth, so did you." Ozpin raised an eyebrow at his gaping mouth, not expecting that reaction. "Did he never tell you the story?"

"No he told us." Max whispered. "I just never believed it." He gave the sword one more flourish before sheathing it. "Why didn't Angela get hers?"

"She already has hers." He nodded to Angela and she stood up. Stretching out her hand, a long shadow appeared. Out of the shadow came a long, red pole with what appeared to be some kind of sword attached to the end. Their was a gold and red tassel on the hind part of the blade.

" _Repentance_ scared the shit out dad when Chris presented this to him." She said sadly as she examined the weapon. "This was Carmon's weapon."

"And you know this how?"

Angela locked eyes with her brother, the truth of her next words hit him like a ton of bricks. "On the day of the attack, I gained control of _Spector_. Using his own semblance, I tapped into dad's mind without him knowing. I found it in his memories, along with his true feelings. I now know what happened all those years ago, and why dad didn't go after mom. I know about the war between him and his sister. I know how much he truly loved you. He never let you win because if you won, even once, you would have gone off after mom, and to your certain death." Slight tears were present in her eyes, but she continued on. "Every time you lashed out and blamed hi for what happened, he agreed with you. He blamed himself for what happened, and every time you reminded him you were practically stabbing him. He might have been the powerful giant on the outside, but on the inside he was no different from us." She practically was yelling at the end. Ozpin wisely stayed silent and watched it play out between the twins.

"If that was true," Max growled. "Then why didn't he go and save her?"

Angela rushed forward, and in one motion too fast to see, slapped him. "Because of you! He did it all for you! He trained you to fight, pushing you as hard as possible, so that you could defend yourself when the time came. He stayed to see it finished. He trusted you to become a man to be proud of. He expected you to come with you when the time came to kill every last son of a bitch that stood between you and mom!" Tears were falling from her eyes as she yelled as her idiotic, selfish brother. "All he wanted was for your life to continue, _with mom!_ He gave up the will to live when he gave up the chance to race after her. He was willing to die in order to reunite us! But someone had to be a dick the whole time. It's a miracle you didn't notice how hurt he was! He could barely muster the will to get out of bed, much less deal with you!"

Max stayed on the ground where he had landed after she had hit him, digesting what he had just learned. _Was_ _it really true? Did he go through hell for me?_ A line he had hated with the core of his being now passed through his thoughts under a new light. _You will never get better by winning an easy fight._ The Damb bastard wasn't being mean. He was trying to help him get stronger, faster! Tears of regret dripping down his nose now that he truly regretted the last five years of his life.

After a time, Max got to his feet. He gave Ozpin a determined look and then asked in a quite voice. "So what do I have to do?"


	4. friends of the past, now teacher

Max hit the ground hard, his weapons getting mocked out of his hands. He let out a groan of pain and got back to his feet, retrieving his swords and getting back into combat position. "Again." He ordered, starting blankly at his opponent with a glazed look, his mind empty as to catch the initiative movement of his opponents strike.

"What is with the men from your family?" Sun shook his head. He, Pyrrha, and Lucas had received urgent calls from Ozpin and rushed to Beacon. Upon arrival, they got a full briefing on what had happened to the John and Blake. All three of them volunteered to help finish Max's training. "You guys can never just stay down." Sun rushed forward and began the fight again, launching a non stop offensive attack.

Max refused to let Sun distract him. He dodged, paired, and countered Sun's moves, occasionally getting close to landing a hit. The fight between the two faunus only lasted just over a minute, ending with Max on the ground again. Sun was about to walk off when he got back to his feet, getting into a ready position again?

"Oh come on man." Sun complained. "Can we at least stop for water and a bathroom break?" Max hesitated and put his weapons away. The two of them went to the bathroom and took a drink from the water fountain, replenishing the supply in their bodies.

Max was leaning against the wall as Sun drank from the fountain. "How did you know my parents?" He asked, taking his turn at the fountain.

"That's an easy one. Your dad stole my girlfriend." Sun laughed as Max began to sputter water. "Yeah, I was your mother's first boyfriend. After a series of extraordinarily stupid actions, she left me. A year later, your dad pops into existence, quite literally, and starts dating her."

"And you're ok with that?"

"No. I wanted him dead for the longest time. The day I saw Blake again he had to stop her from killing me, and he gave me an out." He led Max back to the practice area and retrieved a katana in a red sheath. "He gave this to me and told me when the time came, I would be able to use it." He gave a chuckle to the memory. "I bet he never guessed I would use it to help save him."

Max examined the blade, weighing it in his hand. "He liked swords, didn't he?" He commented to himself. He had to admit, the blade was of good quality. Sun put his sword back into his sheath and picked up his staff.

"I was told its name is _fire heart_." Sun said. What did he name your sword?"

Max pulled out the saber, the light giving it a white glow. " _Day break_." The pair got into position and began again.

Parry a blow from the upper left, followed up with blocking a strike on the lower right. Side step the high speed staff as Sun spun it. Duck a horizontal swing. Strike at the abdomen, quick follow up with slash at the legs as he deflected a blow from the right. While all this was happening, Max kept his thoughts clear, relying heavily on his reaction speed. Lung backwards to dodge an upward left strike, follow up with defending from the right and slipping his sword behind his targets staff and with a twist of the body used his other sword to swipe Sun's legs out from underneath him for the first time. All in all, the fight only took about 12 seconds.

Sun got back to his feet, a grin on his face. "So, do you want to go again?"

Max nodded. "You never get better from winning an easy fight." The pair went again, their interest in the fight being reinvigorated. Max still lost most of the time, but now he understood completely what his dad was talking about. The best way to get better is to face someone far superior than yourself. The fights started to take longer, starting with just a few seconds, but soon they were able to continue for close to ten minutes.

After a rather viscous match, both combatants collapsed on the floor completely out of breath. "You're not bad, you know?" Max panted. He turned his head and smiled. Sun smiled back.

"You're not half bad either, kid." The pair began to laugh for no reason, and continued to laugh because of how ridiculous they must look. They eventually peeled themselves off the floor and went to wash themselves in the locker room. "Hard to believe it's only been three days since we started train you." Sun called out from his stall. "How are the other two treating you?"

"Pyrrha is a good teacher with the sword, but she might be a bit to strong for her own good." Max fumbled the soup and bent down to pick it up. "And Lucas is hard to sneak past. I swear, his eye sight is better than mine, and he is a human." He turned off the water and dried himself with the towel, walking out and changing into the fresh set of clothes he left out. Sun followed shortly later with the towel around his waist.

After Max finished dressing, he left to go to Lucas's lessons behind the school. There was A set of mock buildings, rocks, and people set up in a long path from one end of the school to the other. Lucas was in his usual perch on top of a pilar with his sniper rifle, sitting in a prone position. Max stood at the starting lines and waited.

A gunshot echoed through the air and Max took off, using the the buildings and rocks to his advantage and killed any dummy he came across all while under fire from the sniper. It didn't help that Lucas didn't miss, so he had to eat her be quick or he had to go unnoticed. Since the second one wasn't possible during the day, he opted to go quick.

The bricks over his head exploded as Max dove behind cover, barely avoiding getting hit and having to go back to start. He quickly glanced in Esther direction and dashed out, quickly darting around spastically to throw of the shot as he made a dash for another brick wall that served as a building. There was a faint whistle and Max stopped, avoiding getting hit as a bullet passed in front of him. He quickly ducked behind one of the random wooden wagons that were on the field and waited for the next shot. When he heard it, he rushed for the tree line and got hit in the leg by a follow up shot, a slight electrical current seizing it up and causing him to fall to the ground.

Max got to his feet and brushed himself off as the effects of the shot began to wear off. The stun rounds that Lucas was using were a small rubber pellet covered in yellow dust. Non lethal, but stung like an angry hornet.

"Good try." Lucas said as he approached with his rifle slung over his back. "You beat your last record by about twenty yards." Max looked over the whole riddled course.

"Are you sure those are non lethal?" He asked.

"My gun is stronger than the standard rifle." Lucas explained as they walked around the school to enter via front entrance. "Your aura is what is keeping you from being filled with holes." Max was suddenly glad he didn't use up all of his aura with Sun. They made their way to the staff lounge through a mob of students on their way to class.

"I got to wonder how nobody notices us." Max said as the pushed past a group of girls.

"You take after your dad. He was so big that nobody noticed he was only fifteen." Lucas Ruffles up the teens hair, for a moment seeing his best friend again in the boy.

Max opened the lounge door to find Ozpin talking with sun and Pyrrha at the table. The trio fell silent as he and Lucas entered the room, all eyes landing uncomfortably on him. Angela wasn't present, so she was probably sitting in on another class.

"How did it go?" Ozpin asked Lucas, reaching for his coffee.

Lucas straitened up and put his hands together behind his back. "He has improved. He can now make it 62% of the way up the course in one go." Ozpin nodded, not surprised. Ax took an empty seat next to Sun who gave him a friendly smile before turning back to Ozpin.

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee before he spoke. "I believe it is time we move on." He said, noting the glee in Max's eyes as he said it. "I can't say I had expected you to grow so quickly myself, but I think I know who would. I just don't understand how other worlders can learn so fast."

"My father said something about that when we told him that school was to easy." Max said, smiling at the thought of what had happened that day. "He said when he was in his home world, he was diagnosed with something called high functioning autism. He said that people just like him were able to grasp information faster and tended to learn at a higher pace than others. He and his father viewed it as evolution, while everyone else treated it like it was a disease." It pleased him to know he was actually born special instead of working his whole life to achieve being truly special. "I wouldn't count Angela as autistic though. She uses her semblance to help her learn, and that's some scary stuff."

There was a sharp pain in the back of his head and Max turned around to find a very annoyed Angela. "Just because you think differently doesn't mean your anything different from us." She said, sitting down next to Ozpin. "You called?" She asked the headmaster.

"I did." Ozpin said, looking down upon the fifteen year old girl. He found it unusual for someone to take a seat next to him, least of all a student. "And now that we're all here I will explain the plan."

"Five years ago, Blake belladonna disappeared on a mission on a recovery mission on in the north, in a village infested with grim. She was sent to locate and recover important documents in a trashed lab in the heart of town, never to return."

"Two years later, the white fang makes a reappearance and targets her husband, John Straiter, destroying his home and leaving his children behind."

"We have reason to believe these events are not random. I believe the white fang targeted your family because they are one of the most iconic figures in human-faunus relations. The faunus girl who helped bring down the white fang, and the human male who single handedly ended discrimination against faunus in vale and continued on to be the man who fended off the legions of the great grim war, accompanied by a group of faunus and humans. As you know, this was the event that occurred when a great deal of grim gathered outside of vale, an estimated 42% of all the grim on the continent, and began to attack civilians populations. These massive groups were led by a strange and unusual group of talking grim, who are supposedly exterminated."

Ozpin paused to check that everyone was following and continued. "By removing his wife from the equation, they emotionally unstablized mr. Straiter and made it easier to take him out years later. They left the time gap so that people would not suspect the link between his death and Blake's disappearance. But they failed to kill him, instead took him prisoner by threatening his kids."

Ozpin pulled a picture of a man in a hawk mask with red hair and presented it to them. "Do you know this man."

"That's the guy that took dad!" Angela said. Max jumped back as the picture busted into flames as she copied his semblance with _Mimic_ and turned it to ash. It took a moment for Max to realize that the guy probably also had his mom and wished he had burned the picture. Ozpin nodded satisfied with the outcome.

"I won't waist your time anymore. You leave in the morning."


	5. Chapter 5: infiltration

"This is crazy." Max said. He and his sister were now standing completely unarmed and surrounded by enemies, making him truly wonder what the hell led to this.

That morning when they awoke, they were given tickets for the train and sent down the coast, being told that the rest of the group had already left. The train ride had lasted a good deal of the day. They had eaten lunch on the train which to their surprise was free. Angela checked the food for poison, but Max was still hesitant to eat it. They arrived at the town of Banoi at about 6 pm, where they made their way down to dock 7. They managed to get on the boat right before it could depart and then set out to find Max's teachers, only to realize something was clearly wrong.

Everyone on the boat was a faunus.

The siblings now stood in a crowd on the lower deck and listened to a guy in a white fang uniform with a white mask on talk about glory and war against humans. It was almost as if safe havens like Vale didn't exist for these people. The man finished his speech and some people brought out sign up sheets. The crowd pushed forward and Max hesitated, only to be kicked by his sister.

"Follow my lead, and don't use your real name." Max did as he was told, and by the end of the night he was officially a member of his family's enemy. The siblings slipped off down below into the storage compartment and brought out their weapons seeing as everyone else was armed. They found others down bellow that had their weapons smuggled onboard past the public eye and were suiting up, so it made their cover more believable.

Max wondered to the front of the ship and sat down above deck, watching as the ship cut through the waves and listening to the sound of water crashing against the hull of the vessel. He looked at the stars, comforted by their ever consistent presence.

"Star gazing?" He looked up to see a girl standing behind him, molted gray wings sprouting out of her back. Slung across her back was a simple AK47 with a silencer and scope attachment.

"Just happy to find something familiar in such an unfamiliar place." Max replied in a casual tone. He focused on not tensing up like a hunted animal. _She may be on the enemy team, but she is not a hostile._ He told himself.

The bird faunus sat down next to him, turning her gaze upward. "I know what you mean. I've moved around so much I always wanted something concrete to hold onto. The sky was all I had." She smiled sadly at Max, curling her wings around her body. "My name is Kyra. What's yours?"

"I'm Max." He introduced himself. Kyra giggled, lightening the mood a bit.

"Max, huh? Simple name."

"My mom gave me the name." Max said defensively. "It's practically the last thing I have of her." The smile drained off of Kyra's face, replaced by a mournful expression.

"I'm sorry." She said, shivering slightly as a cold breeze ruffled her feathers. "How did she die?" She asked, looking at the deck. Max didn't understand the question for a moment, then realized something important. Most of the people here had been mistreated by humans, some had even lost family. He wondered how many of them actually had a good reason to hate humans.

"She's not dead." Max said firmly. "I have received proof that she is alive." Kyra looked up in surprise, not expecting such a thing from him. "But first I have to find a man who I believed took her from me. Then I must kill the man who took away my life." Genuine hatred seeped into his voice, now repurposed for Adam Taurus.

"Hey brother, what's up?" Max turned his head to find Angela standing behind them, one hand on Her hip and the other holding _Repentance_. She shot a quick look at the girl next to him, looking back at him with a slightly concerned face.

"He was just telling me about his mother." Kyra said. Angela loosened up again, but sh didn't notice as she wrapped her arms around her legs. "It must have been nice to have parents. Mine died when I was little."

Angela sat down next to the girl, no longer viewing her as a threat. "What happened?" She asked sympathetically.

"I don't know." Kyra admitted. "The earliest memories I have are of the orphanage. The humans didn't treat us to well there, so I ran away. I learned to survive amongst them, but they never really accepted me in their societies. Then I heard of the white fang and set out to join." She let out a small laugh. "For the first time, I won't be discriminated against, and it will be a war that does it."

"Their not all like that." Max said suddenly. "Where we come from, faunus are widely accepted as equals. A great man made sure of it."

"Your talking about Vale, right? You can't fool me. Everyone here knows that's a myth." She faltered when she saw their serious faces. "Your not joking?"

Angela shook her head. "We're not. The only reason we left home was the reason my brother already told you." Kyra just stared at them, not quite believing what she was hearing. The promised land she had heard about not only existed, but these two siblings had left it to join an organization that could down right destroy it? That just didn't make sense.

"The best chance of finding our mom and killing that man is with the white fang." Max said, courage building in his chest. "I can guaranty that we will succeed." He looked over as Angela, and for the first time in a long time, she smiled at him with pride.

Kyra now looked at him in a new light. When she first saw him, she thought she had found someone who was lonely and defeated, but now he was something else. Max was not alone, he had his sister. He was not defeated, he just kept getting back up. He was not weak, he had a strength that burned bright. He had what she wanted so badly. He had the will to keep going.

"You know, we actually were hoping to meet some friends to help us..." Angela started, not sure if what she was going to say would be ideal. Max however, caught on.

"But they didn't join apparently." He finished her sentence. "Kyra, would you like to join us?" He stretched out his hand, a kind smile on his face. Kyra eyes started to produce tears, throwing Max off. Thankfully, he was wrong about the reason behind then.

"You want me as your friend?" She asked, not trusting her ears. What she didn't know was only Max saw her as a friend, Angela just saw her as an ally.

"Is there a problem with that?" Max gave a boyish grin. Kyra took it.

"yes." She said, for once in her life she was not alone.

(the next day)

"Wake up, recruits! We're docking in twenty minutes, so make yourself presentable!" Max rose off of the ground, shaking the sleep out of his eyes as he forced himself to start moving. He nudged Angela awake and rolled up his cover, returning it to the closest at the end of the room. He went to the bathroom and tried to tidy up his hair, failing miserably. Instead he just splashed water on his face and left, meeting up with Kyra and his sister amongst the crowd of faunus.

The doors opened and they walked out, blinking in the tropical sunlight. They followed the sea of people across the wooden docks, straight to an outdoor amphitheater. The group was spread out and sat down, being told that the leader would be speaking with them shortly.

Soon after they had all settled down, the man in hawk mask took the stage. Max's blood practically boiled at the sight of Adam, only the rational thought of him being brutally killed before he could do any good stopped him from rushing forward and striking him down where he stood.

"Welcome." Adam said, looking around the risers. "To our little family. I am Adam Taurus, the leader of this, rebellion."

"I was around when the white fang first rose to power, and I was also active when it fell." He paused, gauging the effect on his audience. "I was even the leader." A quite murmur spread though out the crowed, but Max only focused on keeping the hatred from his eyes. "Throughout all are hardships and losses, I have strove to keep this organization running. Now we are on the rise again. I have taken the liberty of removing the protector of the greatest lie of our world." The crowd fell silent, listening hard. "Yes, I have removed the human who claimed to unify the city where we lost everything. I have broken the lies on Vale!" At first it was quite, then a dull roar of applause and cheers erupted forth.

"That's not what happened." Max growled. Kyra looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Dad saved our city. We could openly walk around in Broad daylight. We where allowed into job places just as much as human. _It was frowned upon to treat us like scum._ " He let his anger flood through his body, feeling the flames as they begged for release. "I am going to murder that bastard. Even if I have to kill everyone else here along with him."

A hand grabbed grabbed onto his shoulder and he almost set the person on fire until he realized it was Angela. "Cool it, you're scaring Kyra. You can let yourself go on him later, only after we find mom and dad." Max gave her a dark glare, but let the anger flow out of him. He closed his eyes and composed himself, returning to the blank state he visited every time he enter combat.

"Who are you?" Max opened his eyes and looked at the bird faunus next to him.

"I am the son of the hero of Vale." He replied, returning his attention to the red haired man on the stage as he continued his speech. "I am Max Straiter. And I am here for my parents."


	6. Chapter 6: the egg

Max stood alone on the beach, staring off on the horizon in an attempt to find any sign of the rest of remnant. But no matter how hard he strained his eyes, he could only see water. He let out a sigh and turned his back on the ocean.

Max made his way across the beach to a series of huts built on the edge of the tree line. Dragons reach was a large island with a mountain stationed in the middle, with surrounded by lush forest. Much to the surprise of the new recruits, the number of grim on the island was a minimal. The place had a population of nethermore and aquatic grim, but other than that the place was unusually clean.

Max opened the door to his barracks and entered, easily drawing attention from the other residents. Standing at 5'7, he easily towered over everyone less his age and then some. But that's not what drew their attention. It was how he was dressed.

When everyone else was wearing tropical clothing and sandals when they weren't at practice, Max had opted to stay in camouflage print fatigues and a black tee shirt. He also always carried his weapons. On his head he wore a dark blue visor to keep the sun out of his eyes, and he had started to tan. He would have fit right in with the marines in his fathers home world instead of the white fang.

His cabin mates took note of him and then went back to whatever they were doing, be it playing cards or just lying around. Max walked over to his bed and pulled out his maintenance kit along with his weapons and set to work examining his weapons. Even though he had been in several combat practices, _Day break_ hadn't received a single scratch. He sometimes used his original sword in duel wielding, the sword his father was now his main weapon.

"Hey Max." Taylor stuck his head over the top of his bed to look at him. The monkey faunus was in shorts and no shirt, his weapon being nunchucks. If it weren't for this guy being almost as old as Sun, he would have thought that the two blondes were related. "Why do you dress funny?"

"We're preparing for war, aren't we?" Max said, not looking up from his sword. "I might as well have an upper hand here as well as back in civilization." The monkey shrugged, taking his reason. Aside from the swords, Max frequently borrowed light weight assault weapons during war games. He was such a natural that they half expected him to be a veteran from the great faunus war.

 _And I owe it all to video games._ Max thought to himself with a smirk. He sheathed his weapon and put it under his bed, waiting for the others to call lights out. About an hour later when the light was finally turned off, Max was already asleep.

In his dream, Max stood in the middle of the stone arena again. He examined the room more thoroughly this time, taking no the that the ceiling was supported by several steel beams. The stands were in a C shape, an exit stationed every 30 feet.

"Dad, you there?" He called out, expecting his father to appear. He kept looking over his shoulder, making sure that he didn't show up behind him.

 _Your dad... Is weak..._

A shiver ran down Max's spine as he heard the voice. It was quite like before, but it wasn't as hard to figure out. A strange, powerful presence entered the room, putting a weight in Max's mind, as if it were sitting on top of his brain. "Who are you?" He asked, standing firm but was internally afraid.

 _I am... Saphira... I know... Your father..._

"How do you have the ability to speak to me?"

 _Not important... On the research half... Of the island... You must... Retrieve me..._

The voice was fading along with the presence. Max knew he didn't have much time. "How do I know where to find you?" He felt a tug in his mind and he was yanked out of his body, flying along the beach around the island, through the jungle, into a cave, past lab equipment and cages, right to a locked door.

 _Grab... My egg..._

Max opened his eyes. He listened for a moment, only hearing the sound of steady breathing and the snoring of some of the members. He listened in on each one of the men's heart rate to make sure they were asleep before he silently got out of bed. Grabbing his swords, he slipped out the doors and into the night.

Max crept along the shore, spacing himself so the morning tide would erase his foot steps. Whenever he saw someone he would slip into the shadows using Spector, dodging past the night watch as he made his way along the route that the voice had told him. Whatever Saphira knew, he needed to know.

He made it to the point in the foliage that Saphira had showed him and entered, laying low in case someone else was nearby. More than once, he came to a complete stop when he heard a noise, only for it to be an animal or just the breeze. He managed to find his way to the hidden entrance of the cave without having a heart attack and caught his breath. Glancing around the corner, he saw one guard sitting at home the end of the hallway. Unfortunately for him, the guard saw him.

"Hello?" The guard called out, drawing his saber that the white fang was known for. Max pushed his back against the stone, waiting for the man to draw close. Using Spector, he slipped unnoticed into the guards shadow. The man swept the area with his eyes, glaring into the dark before he returned to his chair.

Max slipped out of his shadow and into another, making his way through the heavily guarded complex. Left, right, left, left again, and one more right. Max observed the door from his shadow. There was no gap under the door, being it was a seamless metal plate in the wall with a large pull handle. Two guards were stationed outside the door, chatting about whatever they were talking about. Max noticed that they were more relaxed than most of the guards stationed in the complex. (He had nocked them all out as he went along, just in case he triggered an alarm and had to run.) them not expecting an attack made this much easier for him.

Max rose out of the shadow next to the guards, and in one smooth motion, nocked them out with his swords. Max searched the unconscious bodies and stole a key card and unlocked the door. Using one of the guards flash lights, he searched the room for his target. It didn't take him long to find it.

The egg resembled a dark blue stone, with thin white tendrils covering the surface. The egg was almost a foot long. Max put his palm on the egg, closing his eyes. "You called for me, Saphira?" He whispered. The egg heated up as if to answer his question, cooling back down a few seconds later. He let out a tender smile as he picked her up, cradling her in his arm.

"So her name is Saphira, huh?" Max spun around while drawing _Day break,_ looking straight into the mask of Adam Taurus. Adam didn't flinch, didn't even draw his sword. "How did you get here, boy?" He asked, his voice clearly making it an order.

"She called to me." Max said, not daring to relax a muscle. He cleared his mind, preparing for a fight. "So I answered her summons." He held very still, watching for the tell tale twitch that would tell him exactly how Adam would attack.

Adam didn't attack. Instead, he ordered his men to stand down. "The beast has chosen. This young man is now the keeper." The men behind him nodded and stored their weapons and got out of the way, allowing them to pass. Adam turned back to the teen in front of him. "Keep the egg. When it hatches, come to me." Max's mouth hung open as the leader of the white fang left.

 **So those of you who haven't guessed, and those of you who do know, I have based Saphira off of Eragon, one of the best book series I have ever read. To those who know what's going on, don't ruin it for the rest!**


	7. Chapter 7: hello father, hello mother

"And he just let you walk away?" Max had told Angela and Kyra about the events of the previous night over breakfast the next morning, bringing the egg along with him.

"Yeah, that surprised me too." Max said. "I thought I was going to have to fight for my life. Instead he lets me go when I told him she called me." The egg let out a warbling sound right as he finished the sentence. "I know Saphira. I'll let you know when it's safe."

"Do you have any idea how weird that looks?" Kyra asked. Max was ecstatic that she decided to stay with them, even if they were her only friends. A part of her just did not want to give up on the hope that he was right, and the world had changed for the better. "You literally look like your talking to a rock when you do that."

"It's not how weird it is that concerns me." Angela said. "It's what she will hatch into. We can't exactly control when she can come into the world." Kyra nodded in agreement. "Do we even know she will be an ally?" Angela had a valid point, but Max put them to rest.

"That's not a problem. Saphira says she can stay in her she'll as long as it takes, thought I still don't know what she means by that." The egg warbled again, this time adding a clicking of something tapping on the shell. "She says its cramped though." Max put his hand on the egg and it calmed down.

"So back to the subject at hand." Kyra said, leaning on the table. "Are you sure that you're being watched?" She kept her voice down so the people around wouldn't notice her words. Max nodded, glancing at the full fledged members nearby. His attention was drawn to one man who had just entered. He had a mask on with two eye holes and a series of scratches across it. Max tapped each one of the girls with his feet and nodded to him.

"New recruits!" The man said loudly, drawing all eyes to him. "We will be having a break from training today." There was a cheer amongst the crowd which he allowed, but he quoted it down with a clear of his voice. "Instead we're going to the arena for a treat! Bare hand's broken arm has been healed, and we shall allow you to see his first return match." This time the new comers were in a confused silence, but that was broken by a roar of approval from the older members. A lot of them jumped out of their seats and took off, some of the newbies tagging along.

Max and the girls hung back for a moment as the others left. "Hey, can I ask you something?" Max asked as he tapped the masked man on the shoulder.

"Hm?" The man turned around and was probably confused. He then noticed the egg in Max's arms. "Oh, you're the kid that the beast called out to! The boss told us about you. He said he had high hopes for you amongst us, even going so far as saying someday you might be his right hand man." He gave a deep laugh. "We can talk on the way, I don't want to miss the match."

The teens followed the man as he started to jog down the road, past the amphitheater and through the small town. There was a small one floor hospital, an armory, some housing for upperclass members, a bar, and a public bath house for each gender. The living quarters were housed a bit away from the town in wooden barracks, situated on the other side of the mess hall.

"So, how can I help you?" The man asked over his shoulder.

"What is this bare hands, and what is he fighting?" Max asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

"It's more of a he, really." The masked man told him. They were walking up a well lit path that appeared to lead to the mountain. "We captured him about three years ago. He is a human renounced for being the hero of Vale, but everyone knows that's a farce. No one is dumb enough to actually believe that humans and faunus can live together."

They were silent for a moment before Kyra spoke up. "So he just came peacefully?"

"Hell no." The man shook his head. "We originally meant to kill him, but he was even bigger of a threat than we realized. He Damb near killed all of us that night, at least those of us who died were lucky to go out quickly." He pulled up his sleeve to show that his arm was completely made of metal. "He wasn't even trying when he took my arm. He got me as he passed."

"If he was so frightening, how did you subdue him?" Max glanced to his side. Angela was visibly shaking, probably trying very hard not to strike down the man in front of her.

"He caught his kids and he stopped in his tracks. I kind of doubt their still around anymore, though. We kind of burned down their house in the fight." The man rubbed his metal shoulder, as if remembering what it felt like to lose an arm. "O got promoted just by surviving that fight." They had now entered a tunnel, which quickly opened up into a massive cavern that was shaped into an arena. The exact same one from Max's dream, to be precise.

The trio wondered away from the man to find their own seat, preferably one where they could see what was going on but not be noticed. The room was rather loud, up until the large metal grate on the only flat wall swung open with a loud clang.

A flood of assorted grim rushed out into the battlefield a good twenty feet below, grunting and roaring angrily. Max and quite a few other new guys reached for their weapons but were stopped by other white fang members. Max didn't understand until the next figure walked out of the gate.

The man had long, untidy hair and was wearing raged cloth that was probably at one point clothes. On his face was a large amount of facial hair, as if he hadn't shaved in years. A lot of his skin was showing, exposing his well muscled body. All over his body was more scars than the Schnee company had money. But the most striking was his eyes. His eyes were blank and emotionless, coldly regarding everyone and everything in the room.

For a second Max could have sword he locked eyes with the man before the grim charged. He was about to cry out a warning when his father moved, shooting between the grim, only stoping for a second each to kill it. His hand would seem to glow ever so slightly and he would land a powerful jab, sending his hand (and sometimes foot) through the monsters vital organs. A group of beowolves surrounded him, only to be slaughtered when he jumped over them and quickly dispatched each one of them.

Now he was on the offensive. Max's father caught a boarbatusk, and while using the poor creature as a hammer, snapped off its tusks and was using them as knives. Some of the grim started to flee, only to be knocked down by a well placed dead body.

After five minutes of intense fighting, the arena was covered in blood and only the lone bearded man stood alive. He gave one more sweeping look at the crowd before he walked through the gate. But before he left, he did the unexpected. _Good to see you two again, my children. Don't use our semblance here, it will be the last thing you do._ Max glanced over to Angela, making sure she had heard it too.

Angela locked eyes with Max, her eyes wide. Max gave a slight nod, indicating he knew. Kyra, on the other hand, had no clue what just happened. "That was human?" She asked, not looking away from the bodies on the ground.

"That was bare hands." They turned their heads to find that the masked man had returned. "He used to insist on being called by his name, but John just didn't suite what he did."

"Why does he even fight?" Max asked, mostly to himself. However, the man took it as one he had been asked.

"If he doesn't, we stop feeding his wife." Max stood silently, his focus suddenly sharpening. He glanced at the man and raised his eyebrow, being carful about the emotions on his face. "We keep her in the same cell as him. The deal is we take good care of his wife and allow them to have the same cell, and he fights. People tend to die horrible deaths if we disobey the pact." He noticed that the teens were staring at him attentively and added, "I can take you to see him. I can guaranty he will be asleep."

Max nodded and the man led the way. Along the route, he introduced himself as Tobias. They were stopped along the tunnels so that they could check his ID before they could carry on. Tobias led them to a row of large cells, some cramped with other people, grim, and some were just plain empty.

"Here he is." They stopped outside of a large 10 by 10 foot cell inhabited by to people. Their father laid on a pile of covers in the corner, his chest rising and falling at an even pace. His heart beat was that of someone asleep. The other person in the cell was female, in much better condition than the man was. She wore her traditional clothes she was usually found in when she was back in Beacon. She wore a bow on her head, hiding the cat ears underneath.

Blake glanced at the group and went back to her book. Max kind of felt rejected, but he understood that if any of them recognize each other they would all die.

 _She says she is overjoyed in seeing you again._ Max flinched as his dad's voice entered his head. _Hello again Saphira._

 _Hello again._ Saphira chirped. Tobias glanced back at the egg, not hearing her words but he could clearly hear the chirp.

 _So your fully awake now huh. You chose well._ Max had to admit, the man before him could really play dead.

 _Why do you entertain them._ Angela asked. Max connected Kyra to the conversation as they began to walk away, being led out.

 _Because I can't get Blake out on my own. That's why I have been waiting for you two._ Kyra flinched so badly at John's voice in her head she fell down. Max helped her up and mentally let her in on what was going on. _My son's got a girlfriend!_ Max immediately put him on silent as soon as he began to chant, poking fun at the teen. Unfortunately, John was the best at mental powers and got through with ease. _I am the one who introduced this technique. Don't think I would be beaten so easily._

 _Dad, we just met. We're only friends, I swear!_ His father laughed as Max and Kyra got all flustered.

 _Relax, I'm only teasing. Do you have any idea how long it's been since I last talked with anyone who wasn't constantly fretting over my wounds or worrying that help will never come? This is the most fun I've had in years._

 _So what's the plan?_

 _Why, it's quite simple. We need Saphira to hatch._


	8. Chapter 8: hatchling

"Are you sure that now is the best time?" Kyra asked. She, Max, and Angela were crouching around a low fire on the beach, the moon shining down on them as they watched the flames lick the egg. "We look like we're trying to cook your pet."

"Relax, Saphira is fire proof just like me." Max said, his hand bursting into flames to prove his point. "This also proves to soften her shell." He added the fire from his hands to the fire, making it burn brighter for a few seconds.

"So what is she?" Angela asked. She had her halberd Repentance lying on the ground next to her.

"Not a grim, that's for sure. She can communicate with us and is an intelligent being, so I believe she has a soul." There was a ruffling sound as Kyra opened up he wings, letting out a sigh of pleasure as the heat began to seep into them. Max now understood why his dad like Blake's ears so much. He himself had an urge to reach out and Kyra's wing, finding them extraordinary interesting considering bird faunus were rare.

Angela noticed and was about to tease him when she was interrupted by a cracking sound. They turned their attention to the egg as another cracking sound emitted from it. All along the top par of the egg was a large crack, which was slowly being pushed apart by the creature inside. One emerald eye was visible through the crack, staring directly at Max.

Angela let out a scream and grabbed her weapon, Max barely managing to block her attack on the baby. "Calm down." Max ordered, a growl rising in his thought. Angela held the position, glaring back into his eyes. "Saphira is not a threat." There was a slight increase of pressure against his weapon.

"Ooh, she is so cute!" Max risked a glance over his shoulder. The egg had been split into 4 or 5 pieces as Saphira had clawed her way out. Now sitting in Kyra's arms was a brilliant blue winged lizard with small black scales that rose out of her back from the base of her head to the tip of her tail. Small, foot and a half wings sprouted out from behind her shoulders. Her four, stubby legs were tucked underneath her body so her talons wouldn't scratch the girl holding her. The dragon was cooing softly as Kyra scratched the underside of her chin. Her tale had wrapped itself gently around Kyra's wrist.

While his sister was momentarily distracted, Max spun, pushing the weapon away from him and his dragon and used the sword in his right hand to slam down on the halberd, nocking it out of her hands. He then put his own weapons away.

 _I told you I was pretty._ Saphira said, arching her neck into an S shape. Kyra ran a finger down her spine, causing her to shake her scaly body. _Hey, that tickled. Max, return the favor!_

Max didn't run his hand down the girls back, instead targeted the wings for petting. The faunus girl beat him with he feathers, smiling. Saphira wriggled out of Kyra's arms and tried to walk, falling down after a few steps. Kyra reached out to pick her up again but Max grabbed her hand.

"Let her get used to being outside her egg. There's no one around to bother her, so it's safe for her to roam around." Kyra backed off, removing her hand from Max's. Her face was slightly red, but Max just took that as light from the fire.

Saphira walked across the ground, squeaking everything she stumbled. After a few tries, the juvenile dragon was strutting around the beach like she owned the place. The three teens laughed as water licked at Saphira's underbelly when she stumbled to close to the waters edge, causing her to spring into the air and flap her wings, hopping away from the water.

 _You saw nothing._ The little dragon said indignantly. There was a growing noise. _I am hungry. Food?_ Saphira cocked her head to the side, her emerald eyes staring at them intently. Max got to his feet and led the way to the mess hall, Saphira tottering along behind him. Max would stop occasionally whenever she fell down, which ended when Kyra picked her up and let her perch on her shoulder.

"Hello?" Max called out, rapping on the blinds. There was no answer. They tried the door, finding it locked. "Now what?" Max asked, looking at Angela as he said it. She shook her head, not having an idea herself.

"I could try to fly out and catch her a fish." They looked at Kyra, not quite understanding what she meant. "I would just use a spear from the armory. It's not like I'll catch anything with my rifle."

Angela shrugged. "Fair enough." Saphira squeaked and rubbed her cheek against Kyra's, expressing her gratitude. Kyra laughed and pet her, getting something of a purr out of the tiny dragon. The three of them walked to the armory and grabbed a spear, getting a few strange looks from the guards. Max really hoped that Adam would warn his men not to attack them.

When they reached the beach, Saphira jumped off of Kyra's shoulder and glided to the ground, folding her wings when she reach the ground. She kneaded the ground and gave another squeak, setting her gaze on the bird faunus.

"I'll be back shortly Saphira." Kyra cooed, petting her one more time before before spreading her wings and taking off with the spear and rope in hand. She circled once overhead before she soared out over the water. The remaining siblings on the beach watched as the small dot that was their friend dived at the water over and over, attacking what must have been a school of fish.

Max watched the bird faunus with the eyes of a cat, tracing her path across the horizon. "She looks a lot more like an angel than you, you know that right?" He said off handedly, thinking about the wings spreading out of her back. Angela just kicked him in the back of the leg, causing it to give out and him to fall to the ground.

Saphira glanced back at them, quickly looking back out to Kyra. The winged teen was making her way back to shore, a fish stuck to the end of her spear. She came to a stop a few feet above the ground and dropped, landing gracefully on her feet. Max took out his pocket knife and quickly finished the fish with a stab to the head, putting it out of its misery. He took the fish of the shaft and was about to skin it when Saphira snatched it out of his hands and began to devour it.

Even thought she was only just under four feet in length from tip to tail, Saphira managed to eat a good half of the fish. After she finished, she licked her lips and jumped up onto Max, getting to his shoulder with a bit of help. The tiny dragon yawned, displaying her set of tiny but sharp teeth. Max yawned himself, feeling tired. A check of his watch told him that it was currently 1:12 in the morning.

"I think it's time for us to hit the hay guys." The girls nodded in agreement. They separated and went to their respective Barracks, waving goodnight at their doors. Max crept along silently to his bed, setting Saphira down next to his pillow before he himself crawled into bed. "Sleep well Saphira." Max said as he closed his eyes.

 _Goodnight Max._ Saphira touched her snout to Max's nose before she curled up and went to sleep. Max smiled before he too drifted to sleep.

Max woke up to the sound of grown men screaming like little girls and a hissing sound. Max sat up in his bed and wiped the sleep out of his eyes, taking in the situation with a slightly amusing smile. His cabin mates were either hiding on their beds or waving around their weapons as Saphira ran all over the room, snapping at anyone who got to close.

"Stand down!" Max barked, ending in a great big yawn as he got out of bed. "Saphira, get over here before one of them actually lands a hit." The little blue dragon zipped across the room, bounced on the bed, and landed on his shoulder. Her head twitched side to side like a bird, keeping an eye on each faunus in the room.

 _What a bunch of wimps._ Max commented to Saphira.

 _Agreed_. Max bumped his fist with one of her little clawed feet before walking out of the room, ignoring the looks he was getting from his cabin mates. They met up with Kyra on the way to the mess hall.

When they walked into the mess hall, Kyra went and got into line and Max marched over to the head table were Adam and the high ranking members sat. Saphira seemed to recognize him and set her piercing gaze on the red head.

"She has hatched, sir." Max said, Saphira shifting uncomfortably as if she sensed the cool anger that he was keeping hidden.

"I can see." Adam said, staring at the small dragon on Max's shoulder. He wasn't the only one. The whole room was paying attention to Saphira, making he shift uncomfortably and glance over her shoulder. Adam stood up and the room went quite. "Attention all white fang members. Today marks a great day for our kind."

"For many, many long years our organization has been in hiding. Now, with the birth of this magnificent being, we will soon be able to walk back out of the shadows. Today marks the day that our dragon was born!" There was silence, until a cheer rose up. Adam allowed it for a time, until he held up his hand for silence. "A few days ago, the dragon called out from its slumber in its egg and contacted this boy. We have held onto the egg for three years, and only recently has it hatched. I believe that the creature has chosen the boy as her master, meaning he is of great importance." He turned his attention to Max. "What are your names?"

"I am Max, and this is my friend, Saphira."


	9. Chapter 9: this fight looks familiar

_Check mate_. Saphira said gleefully as she pushed her rook into position. Everyone in the room laughed as her opponent raged, the poor guy losing for the third time in a row. The tiny dragon extended her neck and picked up the opposing king with her mouth and gave it a quick shake as if she was breaking its neck. _Do you wish to try again?_ She asked sweetly.

"I think I'll yield." The man said, standing up from the bench. It had been a few days since Saphira had hatched, but she had already become extremely popular. As of now, the Straighter siblings were lounging around the mess hall with Kyra and watched as Saphira played her first and favorite game.

Quick as a snake, Saphira's head shot out and rearranged the board back to the starting position. "You know." Max told Angela as they watched another challenger step up for a match against the dragon. "If we start charging for people to take her on, we could make a lot of money."

"People would stop playing, and I'm pretty sure we don't want that one." Angela pointed out. "What time do we have sparing practice?" She glanced over her shoulder as Max pulled out his schedule.

"1:30." He replied, flicking his wrist and closing the book with a snap. "We got enough time for lunch." They left Saphira in the capable hands of Kyra and fetched their meals, some of the people in the room watching them go. Max rolled his eyes and got his food, not entirely surprised when he heard gun shots as they tried to take his dragon.

"They just don't learn do they?" Angela said as she swiped the medkit on her way out. Lying down on the ground with various limbs having holes in them were some hot shot boys that wanted the dragon for themselves. They were crying in pain up until the point that Angela beat them upside the head with the medkit, nocking them out. She then tossed it to a bystander and walked back to her spot. "Nice shooting." She told Kyra offhandedly.

"Still don't understand why I have to make sure they can recover." Kyra said, leaving to grab her own food. Saphira wondered over from her game and started to snap bits of food out of the air as they tossed it to her. Max trying to get her to eat a bit of lettuce, but she just blasted it out of the air with a little ember of fire.

"Hey, can we sit with you?" Max looked up from his burger. A group of kids crowded around the table and looked at the group timidly. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence to find kids amongst the white fang, some being orphans or runaways, while others came with their families. Max looked over to Saphira, who gave them a quick glance before going back to eating.

"She's fine with your presence." Max said, returning to his food. He smiled slightly as Saphira jumped when one of the kids reached out to touch her.

 _No touching._ Saphira scolded the child, giving his hand a quick sniff before turning back to Kyra, pulling of puppy dog eyes that could put Ruby to shame. Kyra froze, her impulse to spoil the little dragon colliding with her hunger. The internal debate ended when Angela told Saphira if she was still hungry she could ask the kids behind her to accompany her while she hunted mice. Saphira replied by hoping off the table and scampering off, the kids in hot pursuit.

"Do you think she will be able to catch anything with such a noisy lot following her?" Kyra asked, taking a bite of her food guilty.

"Naw. She just ditched them." Max replied, keeping his mental link with Saphira open to monitor her situation. The clever little dragon had lost the kids almost immediately by slipping around a bush near the barracks and made her way back towards the mess hall, the kids racing past her.

 _I am going to the woods outside of the arena. There should be plenty of rodents for all the food you foolish faunus leave all over the place._ Max gave her the go ahead and returned to his meal.

After the three of them finished their food, they made their way to the open part of the beach that the white fang had cleared and marked off for practice. Most of the people who fled to the white fang didn't bring along weapons and had been given the standard sword, while those who did have their own weapons were permitted to have use their own. You would occasionally find an odd one with a unique weapon, most likely hunters deserting their kingdom, but most had a simple weapon.

Kyra left them to go to the gun practice section, a simple shooting gallery and house invasion practice zone. Max and Angela found themselves a clear point amongst the bodies in mock combat and readied their weapons.

 _Day Break_ let out a clear metallic ring as the edge of _Repentance_ struck the flat of the blade. Angela started the battle a well aimed thrust, Max barely reacting fast enough to lean away and block with his sword. With a twist of the wrist, Max pushed the halberd away from him and retreated a few steps. Angela spun her weapon over her head as she stepped forward, sending a high speed slash from the right as she finished the spinning.

Max, being left handed like his dad, threw himself to the ground to avoid the weapon. Rolling to his feet, he threw a vertical slash at his sister as he rose to his feet. Angela blocked and countered, her motion fluid with perfection. Max staggered slightly as the pole of the weapon hit him in the ribs. Angela disengaged to let him catch his breath.

Max straitened up and raised his sword. He dashed forward, quickly dropping low to avoid his sisters attack, and launched a diagonal cut towards her left shoulder. Angela side stepped and attempted to brig her weapon down on his unguarded back. Max stopped abruptly, tensed down as low as possible, and quickly bounced back up leaning backwards, the blade of the halberd passing less than an inch from his face. Not missing a second, he sprung forward and hit Angela in the chest with an open palm strike, nocking her to the ground.

Max allowed himself a feeling of accomplishment before he retreated and readied for the next bout. It was extraordinarily hard to land a hit on Angela, and her Mimic would guaranty that move wouldn't work again. For a girl who never wanted to be a hunter, she could definitely stand head and shoulder over a good deal of the population.

Angela began to walk forward, _Repentance_ spinning and weaving around her body. At times Max could only see the little bit of red string at the back of the blade. Then she began to dance with the blade, putting on an elegant and dangerous display. She then floated at him with extraordinary speed, the weapon creating a wall of attacks. Max dodged and blocked as best he could, even drawing his second sword, but in the end she got him in the side of the head. She had expertly maneuvered the weapon and distracted him with red tassel, flicking it so it appeared that the weapon was coming from the left when it really hit him on the right.

"You ok?" Angela asked, lowering her weapon. Max had fallen to the ground and was clutch his head,supporting himself with his left hand and sat on his knees.

"You know, sis." He said, pain heavy in his voice. "You should never let your guard down." She didn't have time to shout in surprise as he landed over 20 cuts on her, depleting her aura enough for him to get the victory. "I'm not dead yet. So I can still fight." He sheathed his weapon and helped her up. There was a chorus of clapping and a few cheers. Max looked up to find that most of the people on the battlefield had stopped and had been watching the siblings battle.

"you would have made dad proud." Angela told him.

"Yeah. To bad I resented him right up until the end." They walked over to where Kyra was blowing holes into targets. She wasn't as good at the sniper as Lucas (see chapter: a friend of the past, now teacher) but she could usually land enough shots to causes serious problems for her enemy. Much to their surprise, they found Saphira siting on the ground next to her, sounding off hit or miss like her personal spotter with wings.

 _What took you so long?_ Saphira asked, looking away from the target dummy. Her green eyes were as sharp as a hawk, looking over them carefully before turning back to the target as its head exploded with a three round burst. _Bullseye_. She said.

"Good hunt?" Max asked offhandedly, following the little dragons gaze to the target as the girl with the gun opened fire.

 _Caught a squirrel._ She said proudly. Max scratched her chin. After a few more minutes, Kyra finished up with her practice and the group walked off to wander around the island.

 _Hey Max._

"Yes Saphira?"

 _Your dad says hi._


	10. Chapter 10 busted

"It is truly odd for you to be awake, John."

"I can be conscious when I choose to."

"..."

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

"He's yours, isn't he?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"You know who I'm talking about. Max. First day your arm is healed and your back in the ring, the boy comes to your cell. The night before, he breaks into a secret facility and steals the dragon egg. You know, the egg we retrieved after we made you fight the mother."

"I hear it was a major disappointment when she didn't kill me."

"It was, but that's not the point. You told about the egg, didn't you."

"No, that was not my doing. You wouldn't believe me, but Saphira is more powerful than you could imagine. She will someday have the great strength of her kind, sure, but what is astounding is her aura. It is by far stronger than any I have ever encountered. She is the one who called Max."

"In other words?"

"Neither of us has control anymore. All the fighting in the world can't bring that back. You have waited to long to repair the damage."

"I am not going to lose. Your children are already a part of the white fang, and every passing day they become one of mine."

A laugh broke the conversation. "That's where you are wrong. Ever since you stole his mother, he hated me from the bottom of his heart. Even the truth won't fill that hole again and trust me, he knows. I am willing to bet that when the smoke clears, neither one of us will be walking away from this."

"If you think so, then you will love today's match."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Saphira! Please let me back on the ground! Please!" Max cried in fear as he rode on Saphira's scaly back. He shrieked in terror as the young dragon dropped a about ten feet out of the air. Over the month and a half they had joined the white fang, Saphira had doubled in size every few days. She now was about 15 feet long and 10 feet tall. She had recently learned to fly a few weeks back, but apparently it a whole lot harder to keep air born with passengers.

"But you said you needed to learn to ride and she needs to learn how to carry passengers!" Max didn't dare look up from the spike on Saphira's back when Kyra swooped in over his head. The little black scales on the hatchlings back had spread out as she grew and had grown into spikes, giving him something to hold onto when he was with her.

 _Suck it up, you big baby!_ Saphira crowed gleefully. _Your girlfriend isn't afraid of heights._ She did a sharp turn and he nearly fell off.

"Well she has wings. If I fall I die." Saphira sent a mental image of her doing a barrel roll and dropping him into the water. He heard laughs from Saphira and Kyra as he cowered closer to the spike. "And we're not dating!" He cried pointlessly.

"Maybe you should give him a gentler flight, Saphira." Kyra swooped in again and landed on her back, grabbing onto one of the spikes. "Our poor kitty's fur is standing on end." She crept forward and wrapped her arms around him and his spike, petting him with a teasing grin.

Saphira slowed down from her racing speed to a simple flight, no longer trying to out ru. Her imaginary pursuers. Max regretted having her practice for the big escape they were planing in a few days. She now took it very seriously.

"Thank you, Saphira." Max said, rubbing her back. The scales beneath him vibrated as she hummed. "You can let go of me now, Kyra."

Kyra held onto him for a moment longer before letting go. She pet his ears one more time before she took flight, spiraling under Saphira's wing before she slowed and kept pace near her head. Max couldn't help but grin at the sight of the girls flying together. _These two are so close I am almost jealous._

They flew around the island a few more times before Saphira spotted something of interest on the ground. _Adams signaling us._ She sent over an image of a metallic glint from down bellow. It flashed twice every three seconds.

 _Ok. Let's go, slower than what your thinking._ Saphira was planning on doing a nose dive before pulling up and using her wings to slow her descent. _That would definitely kill me._ Saphira just chuckled and circled own, landing heavily and jarring him off. Max sprung back to his feet and brushed the dirt off, not letting anyone around think that was an accident.

Angela was waiting next to Adam, her arms crossed and a look of annoyance on her face. "Took you guys long enough." She said bossily. Max pretended not to hear her and greeted Adam.

"You call?" Max asked, his hands in his pockets. He had learned from experience that Adam didn't appreciate people bowing to him soon after Saphira hatched and stopped, personally glad he didn't have to bend over for the man.

"I did." Adam said, nodding to him and Saphira in turn. "Come. It is time to test your training." He turned on his heels and walked away, leaving them to follow. He led the way to town, stopping briefly at the armory to pick up a sword. Max didn't ask any questions as they made their way through town (Saphira flying above because she couldn't walk through town very well), but as soon as they were led out of town and down a familiar dirt road he started to get an uneasy feeling.

"Sir, where are we going?" Max asked, knowing perfectly well where they were going.

"To the arena." Adam said, not turning around.

"Why?"

"Too see your parents."

The three teens came to an abrupt halt. Weapons appeared out of shadows for the siblings, while Kyra clutched her gun nervously. Saphira prepared to dive, ready to fight and kill Adam if the need arose. Adam stopped at the entrance to the tunnel and turned his head, not a hint of surprise on his face. "How long?" Max asked. "How long have you known?"

"Long enough." Adam said. "I would suggest you come quietly. Your father didn't stand down out of laziness, did he?" The man rested his hand on his sword, making it clear he knew how to use it.

Max on the other hand, was an idiot. "Like I care what that asshole thinks!" He shouted. He dashed forward while drawing his sword and throwing a powerful strike in one move. His skill and strength was waisted. The red haired man showed faster speed and reflexes than most faunus, easily blocking his weapon. He didn't even have to draw his weapon.

"You should have come quietly." And with that the world went black.

"Ah man. And I thought that Angela was brutal." Max said as he rose from the pile of hay he awoke on. "I didn't even see his hand hit me."

"That's because your sister is the one that hit you." Max stopped rubbing the back of his head and looked past the bars of the cell. Sitting against the wall on top of a pile of covers was the man he had hated for so long and had recently come to free. "You truly are a bloody idiot to try to fight that man Max."

"Hey dad. How's mom?" Max couldn't help but grin at their current situation. His father grinned back.

"Happiest she has been in a while. She just passed out." He chuckled slightly. "Listen closely." They fell silent, the smile widening on their face as they could hear a hearty purr rising from Blake's throat. "You can relax. I broke into her head a while before you came in, so she doesn't know your here."

"Why did you do this?" Max asked, feeling a little hurt.

"I broke into her head when Adam dropped by. She has no idea of what we have to do." His voice had a sad ring to it.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't you know? Adam found out, and it looks like he's not to happy." John shook his head. "I'm sorry, Harry. Only one can live, when both shall fall."

 **Dear public, please tell me I'm not the only one who feels down when no one laughs at my jokes. I spend a lot of effort putting them in the story seamlessly.**


	11. Chapter 11: the swords of father and son

Max stood on the stone floor of the arena, his eyes locked with his opponent in an attempt to ignore the cheers of the crowd. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Saphira sitting in the main entrance tunnel, Angela and Kyra sitting with her.

"There is no way Saphira's going to help you." Max's father said, his arms crossed over his chest. "Adam's got that covered. I have never seen it in reality, but he can completely destroy anything in one strike."

"And you're not going to tell me how you know that." Max's said, his hand clutching Daybreak tightly.

"Just ask Uncle Kyle. Both him and Ruby know." John behaved rather relaxed for someone unarmed. In fact, his face was just a bit saddened as he watched Max's stance. "Kind of doubt he will be willing to talk to you once this is all over. His wife is a human, you know." He said it so casually, as if not a thing coming out of his mouth hurt him. The Straighter family was close friends with them, so Max had an uneasy feeling about the man before him.

"Are you really my father?" Max asked, shifting slightly. Their was a gleam in John's eye and he flinched. Max involuntary stepped back as his father shot forward, closing the gap between them faster than the blink of the eye.

"I am." He said coldly. A dull pain slammed Max's chest as John hit him with an open hand strike, sending him flying. "And like always, I can't lose." The crowd let out a roar of approval, howling like animals. Talk about ironic since John was the only human in the room.

Max sprung to his feet and got into a defensive position, eyeing his father closely. _He's gotten better since I last fought him._ Max thought. _It's like the gap between our strengths has only increased._

 _Are you sure you can do this?_ Saphira asked. Max nodded. _Ok. I'll keep an open channel of thought to the others._

Max let a feeling of gratitude transfer between them before he threw himself into battle. He ran forward and began to slash and stab at his dad, only for the man to dodge or side step each strike with a comment.

"Too high. Poorly coordinated. That was obviously a wild swing. Miss. Too low. Are you even trying?" John was aggravating Max with each passing attack. It was like trying to hit a highly evasive talking piñata. Max swung at his head and he leaned out of the way, kicking him in the gut. "Only fighting easy battles again, have we?" He hopped back a few paces and waited for his son to get up.

"You." Max panted, getting to his feet. "Are a real asshole, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know." John said, putting his hands in his tattered pockets. "But I find it insulting that your holding back." Max picked up his sword again and held it in a ready position. "I am your father, Max, not your friend. And right now, if either of us want to see Blake survive, the other must die."

"Well at least I won't have any regrets!" Max rushed forward, his sword held down by his waist and his body leaned down low. He rushed toward John's left side (his right), aiming to run him through. A satisfied grin flashed on John's face as he began to turn, his hand moving to intercept the blade and push it out of the way. A tell tale glow warped around his hand as the man focused his aura around his hand. _So that's how he does it! Well here's a surprise in return, asshole._ Right before his blade was made contact with his fathers hand, Max gave a agile turn of the wrist and the blade dodged around his opponent's arm, and a step later a long gash stretched across his stomach.

"Damb. A shallow cut, but a cut none the less." The wound healed over from the mans aura. Max stopped to wonder how he was even bleeding if he still had aura, only to shake it out of his head as he got back to focusing on the fight. The sight of blood had pumped up the crowd, only to grow quite as Adam stood up and tossed the sword he had retrieved from the armory to the field. John gave the sword one look before kicking it to the side. "If I'm allowed a weapon, it will be my weapon."

As soon as Max registered the words, he rushed at his father in an attempt to stop him from bring it out. To late, _Midnight_ appeared in his hand in time to parry his attack. Max flipped his sword in his hand and pulled back while retreating, sparks flying as John blocked the hit and countered. To the surprise of both fighters, he missed.

 _He's rusty!_ Max realized. _His defense is fine because he focuses mostly on dodging, but his offensive is rather poor._ Max could use this. He switched to defensive and started gauging his opponent's moves. He took careful notice of the strength behind each blow he deflected or blocked and were he was aiming.

Max found an opening when he parried, pushing _Daybreak_ down the flat of the enemy sword in an attempt to strike at his fathers head. He was interrupted, however, when his father's knee made contact with his groin.

"No fair." Max grunted, doing his best not to fall to the ground and cover his balls.

"All is fair, in love and war." John said, walking a few paces back to let his son recover and get to his feet.

"And which do you fight for?" Max spat. He felt like he was back in his backyard, getting beaten in a practice fight again. The main difference was that the blows he was receiving weren't soft.

"You will understand someday." Max glared at his father. He truly hated all these cryptic responses he was receiving. It was almost as if the man was trying to make him hate him.

Max snatched his sword off the ground and stood up, quickly returning his gaze to his enemy. In the split second his eyes had been diverted, his father had split himself into five and was now weaving in a circle around him, moving fast enough to make it impossible to tell who was the original. Then they all stopped and leveled their swords at him.

Max laughed slightly at the simple trick his father was trying to pull. _What a fool. Since the rest are just illusions, I just have to listen for the real ones heartbeat._ He closed his eyes and focused on his ears. Sure enough, if he concentrated hard enough he could make out his targets heart beat through the cheers of the crowd. But when he found it, his eyes flew open and he flew towards the one farthest away. _How can they all have heartbeats?_

Fast pace metallic clangs echoed across the battle ground as Max threw a series of three strikes at his father, followed up with a finishing stab to the chest. He didn't pay attention to the clone as it turned to shadow, pumping power to his legs as he dashed at the next one. This one blocked his hit, only to be downed as Max quickly swiped its legs out from underneath him and stabbed him in the chest.

"So you were holding back." One of the John's shouted, rushing in and engaging. They swapped blows for a few seconds before another one kicked Max in the back, nocking him away. "This is more like it!"

Max twisted in the air and landed on his feet, catching himself with his hand. He used his semblance to form jets of fire from his feet as he kicked off, launching himself like a rocket at another one of his father, peircing him through the heart. The figure dissolved into shadow, revealing another one launching a stab at him. Max side stepped and cut him in two. Three down, two to go.

"Which one of us will you choose, my son?" A content look was on each of his faces. Max felt a rage boiling in his chest.

 _How can he be so calm?_ He wondered, not liking how easy the fight had gotten.

 _Because he wants to lose._ Angela said over a mental link. _He's not fighting at full strength, only enough to make it look as if he was serious._

Max was about to ask how she knew that when his opponents rushed forward, throwing well coordinated strikes to push him back, constantly switching places whenever he threw a counter strike. "To answer your question," Max grunted as he knocked back one of the clones. "I chose both of you!" He launched backwards with flames out of his feet. Over a hundred guns materialized out of thin air, halting his father in his tracks. That's when Max used his other semblance, the one that brought the guns, and appeared behind his father, both swords in hand. "Game over." He said darkly, thrusting the blades into his dad.

Blood spattered on the ground as he withdrew the weapons, kicking over the remaining man. Max stared down at the dying man, confused on why he felt nothing after doing such a horrible act. "Happy now?" He asked, staring at his father.

A smile crossed the mans lips, his eyes darkening. "Very." He said in a weak voice. "Do me a favor. Don't let your mother see my body." He winched in pain, his voice fading by the second. "Listen carefully to your final order. Tell your mother this. A mocking birds final breath, means there was more air left in his lungs upon death. If your heartaches from now without, look beyond the shadow of a doubt." The last part was barely a whisper, the man using the last of his strength to convey it to his son.

"As you wish." Max bowed his head, setting the body alight. He pored more and more energy into the flame, burning everything, including the bones. "Your fight is over. Don't bother coming back again."

 **Hey guys, thanks for reading my chapter. I originally meant this one to be combined with the last one, but I decided to go with this. I hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned for the reason behind the message. I would be greatly pleased if anyone would like to guess at the answer.**


	12. Chapter 12: free

Max walked down the dirt path leading away from the mountains, wondering why he felt so empty. Saphira crawled behind him, occasionally nudging Max to keep him walking in a straight line because he would wonder aimlessly lost in thought. Angela and Kyra weren't with him, going on ahead to break the news to Blake. Max had chosen not to go with, not wishing to look at his mother's face when she learned that he had killed his father.

 _What am I missing?_ Max asked himself, trying to understand why he felt so dead inside. _I hated the man, so why do I feel so down?_ Saphira cocked her head to the side, looking at him worriedly.

 _Maybe you're just in shock._ Saphira suggested. Max shot her a glare, denying he would ever be in shock over losing his dad. _I meant on making your first kill. I hear that it's a common trait among your kind that you can get sick after taking a life for the first time._

Max pondered the idea, almost walking into a tree. He pat Saphira's snout, thanking her. She snorted and inclined her head forward, drawing his attention to a group of men blocking the road ahead. Max could tell by how they rested their hands not their sabers that they were edging for a fight.

Max approached them normally, making sure that he gave them no reason to think he suspected their intentions. "May I pass?" He asked casually, his gaze sliding across them, sizing each one of them up. In total, there were only five targets. The way they held themselves and looked down on him told him they were veterans, the bulging muscles also told him that these men were stronger than him.

"No, you can't." One of the men sneered, glaring at him venomously. "We lost a lot of money on you." Max just stood there as the men surrounded him, cracking their knuckles threatening. He tilted his head to lazily look over his shoulder, his hands tucked into his pockets.

"Poor you."

"You're damb right!" Another man said, taking a step closer. "And you're going to pay us back." Max locked eyes with the man, staring emptily into the angry pupils of his prey.

"How much?" Max asked laxly, straightening up to face the man.

"200." A nasty grin spread on his face. "200 each."

"200 it is." Max walked up to the man calmly, smiling ever so slightly when he saw the grin falter from his face. He involuntary stepped back as Max came to a stop in front of him, an uneasy feeling seeping into him. And that feeling was rightly placed.

Max moved fast, to fast even for a faunus, his hand shooting out and catching the man in the chest. In under 10 seconds, Max landed 52 hits on his target. The hits themselves weren't very powerful, but the speed at which they were delivered and the massive amount easily did a measure of damage. As the man was nocked off his feet, Max jumped and used him as a springboard, barreling into another man, nocking him down. Max nocked him out with a slug to the side of the head.

The other three finally snapped out of it and rushed to the aid of their allies. Max tripped the first one and kneed him in the gut, affectively taking the man out of action. He fell the next one with a savage kick between the legs, nocking him out with a slam at the base of the skull. The last remaining man turned tail to flee, only to be caught before he could get very far. Max made sure to give this guy his full 200, bruising almost his entire body.

Max stood over the beaten body of his opponent, looking at the men who were still conscious as they got to their feet. "Do you still want the rest of your 200?" Max asked, putting his foot on the beaten man. They shook their heads feverishly. "Good. Come Saphira." He turned and continued down the road, the dragon following shortly behind him.

 _Was that really necessary?_ Saphira asked him, looking back at the men. _They didn't pose a threat._

"I didn't fight that fight because I was threatened. I did it so that I wouldn't have to fight again." He thought back to a game he played before with his sister and dad, a line popping into his head. "Dad used to use this strategy whenever he was in a bad spot. If you can't win against the mass, hit them so they won't be able to hit back. He would use most of his pieces to take as much as possible, leaving him extraordinarily open for attack. But with that move, he would take away from his opponent more than enough to break them. They wouldn't attack because they couldn't scrounge up enough to attack with."

 _And this has something to with this how?_

"I made my position clear by taking out their advancement. Their not going to come looking for a fight any time soon when they lost like that. Moral is the pieces I took from them." Saphira understood, deciding to remember the strategy for a later date.

 _So have you figured out the puzzle yet?_ Saphira asked. Max shook his head. Right now, his Angela was probably relaying those very words to their mother, and Max was completely ignoring them.

"The answer will come in time. Dad probably planned it that way." Secretly, Max didn't care if it was just gibberish of a dying man, or a warning of things to come. "Let's just go home."

(meanwhile)

Angela held her crying mother against her chest, petting the back of her head like her dad always did. On several occasions Angela tried to say something, only for the words to be caught in her throat and her falling into silence. Even when she was physically shaking with effort, the girl didn't allow a single tear escape her.

"Be strong." Angela finally whispered. "Dad would be ashamed if he saw this."

Blake laughed slightly, a tremor running through her body. "Your father was never ashamed of us. Not once." She pulled her daughter in for a hug, her tears still flowing freely.

"I know mama, I know." She returned the hug, and together they wept.

Kyra watched from a few feet away, a mixture of different emotions stirring within her. She emphasized with the loss of the girls before her because she had also lost her family. She felt anger with her inability to help her friend. She was still horrified with how unaffected Max was with his deed. And above all, she felt trapped, trapped in the rapidly accelerating tide of a whirlpool of fate.

 _Am I sure I'm on the right side?_ Kyra asked herself for the first time. _I know these guys are fighting for their family, and to an extent, their home. But where do I fall in on this? When the time comes, will they fight just as hard to protect me?_ Her hand reached into her pocket as if to search for something that wasn't there. _Do I really want to gamble the survival I've worked so hard for?_

 _Then don't gamble._ A logical voice interjected her train of thought. _Can't you tell how these people work? As soon as you get close, it takes great power to make them let go._ Kyra couldn't held but let a grin cross her lips, even in such a sorrowful moment. Why had she been doubting it? It would be the end of the world before they abandoned her. _That's right. Max won't leave you. He won't let you go through what she is going through._ A feeling of guilt crept into her as she looked at Blake. While she had been grieving over her loss, Kyra had been doubting her family.

"Angela, I think it's time." The girl looked up, a look of confusion visible behind her tears. "It's time we tell her Max's message."

Angela nodded and cleared her throat. "Mom, dad wanted you to hear one last thing before his body was burnt."

Blake took a moment to compose herself a bit before she nodded her head, indicating she was ready. "Tell me." She said, her voice breaking. An unsure glance flashed between the younger girls before Angela continued.

"I'm not sure if he meant it as a poem or a riddle, but I've memorized it perfectly." She cleared her throat again before continuing. "A mocking birds final breath, means there was more air left in his lungs upon death. If your heartaches from now without, look beyond the shadow of a doubt."

Blake was silent for a moment, her eyes glossy. "Clever bastard." She finally whispered. "Making sure to win an argument, even in death." The others inquired what she was talking about, but she shook her head. "As long as people remember, he is never dead."

"I'm pretty sure Max won't be too pleased about that." Angela said jokingly, only to draw back father into sorrow. "He doesn't know it, but dad planned it this way. Max doesn't regret killing him."

"It wouldn't be the first time that John told someone to try to kill him." Blake said, remembering how the dispute between Sun and her husband had ended. "Just the first time they took the offer." Angela nodded solemnly, having seen the memory straight from the mans head.

"Lucky bastard." Angela said. "He doesn't even know that he was the one pampered till the end." She got to her feet and helped Blake to her feet, a gentle smile on her face. "Come on. Those two have given you your freedom back."

Together, hand in hand, mother and daughter followed Kyra outside to the sunny world.


	13. Chapter 13: dreams

"Go away." Max said sternly, glaring at the man before him.

"No." Max's eye twitch as his father said it with a smile. His pose emulated a monkey on a pole, which was completely ironic since they were in a completely empty space devoid of color. And what urged him more was he was suspended in the air, looking down on him with that stupidly friendly grin.

"Don't you know it's disrespectful to live when someone kills you?"

"But I did die. No one ever said I had to go away when I died."

"So, your just hanging around to haunt me till the end of my days?"

"No no, not that long. Just till my plan comes to fruition."

"And how long will that take?"

"I don't know, I'm dead." Max let out a tired sigh. Who would have thought that the guy would stick around after he got run through with a sword, and even talk with the guy who killed him as if it never happened.

"Well, can you go away and let me sleep at least?" Max pleaded.

"You are asleep." John said. He launched off of his invisible perch and landed gracefully on his feet. "I still have a job to do."

"And what the hell does that have to do with me?" Max raged.

"Everything." Max glared at his father angrily as he put his hand on his shoulder, staring into his son's eyes sadly. "I hate to put such a weight on your shoulders when your so young, but you are the plan."

"Oh, what a great plan!" Max said mockingly, stepping closer to his dad. "Go and drop dead, leaving all the work to the son! What a great dad you are."

"You have no idea what I've done for you."

"Oh, I got the general idea." Max snarled, walking right into the man's personal space and looking him in the eye. "Angela had me convinced too. The man who was so self centered he left his wife behind when she obviously needed him the most, and then leaving behind his kids without a second thought, had actually been scheming this amazing plan to finish off the bad guys and was doing it for my own good. Ha, what a laugh. In the end I was right, and you really are just an asshole. At this point, I don't regret killing you emotionally for the last few years we were together. You deserved it."

"Well at least I was nice about it." John finally spat, pushing his son back a step. "I gave you the techniques necessary for it to work. I gave you the weapon you needed to kill me, and ultimately Adam. I'm the one who told Saphira about you and steadily fed her all my aura so she could contact you. I'm the one who insured that Blake got to live as comfortable as possible until you arrived. I'm the one who held back to give you the best chance possible. I'm the one who has carefully broke your love for me so that you felt nothing when that blade went through me. I made you hate me. Think about that. If I prized you guys over everything else, don't you think I would have a reason for causing so much pain?"

"And why would any man do that to his son?" Max yelled, throwing a punch and missing.

"Because I know what it's like to kill someone close to yourself. I had to go through it three times with Carmon. I learned the hard way that it's by far harder to kill someone you still love. It scared the shit out of me when you acted like you used to when we were in cells together. It was like back when everything was right. If I left you like that, I would still be alive!"

"Maybe that would have been better that way! Mom was heartbroken when she learned of your death. I'm willing to bet she can't even bring herself to look at me anymore!"

"Well then go to her already! Tell her everything, that's an order!"

"And why should I listen to a ghost!?"

"Because Blake loved you almost three years before you were even born. Ever since I stumbled in her dream and discovered her desire for a child, she has had her heart set on you. She was giddy with joy when you grew up just like the kid she saw in her dream years before! How do you think she feels now that one of her favorite treasures on the face of the planet refuses to look at her!?"

Max fell into a guilty silence, diverting his eyes away from his dad. His right hand came up to hod his left arm, a depressed look forming in his eyes. "Sorry." He whispered quietly.

John's face softened. "Don't be. You're a Straighter, we screw up all the time. Doesn't mean we leave it messed up." He pat his son's shoulder. "Especially when the world rests on our shoulders." He turned and started to walk away, only to be stopped in his tracks when Max called out to him.

"I thought you weren't going?"

"I'm not. I'm telling your mom you will be over in the morning." He smiled over his shoulder. "Get some sleep now, my proud kitten." And he vanished.

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A flurry of metallic clangs accompanied by the sound of wood on wood echoed across the grassy plain as two combatants clashed in the middle. If an outsider could see them, they would have sworn the two of their weapons had been moving around their owners on their own free will. The only time the two figures stopped was when one of them scored a hit.

"I lost again." Angela panted as she sprung back. "How did you lose the first time?"

Carmon straightened up and planted her halberd in the ground, stretching her arms over her head. "Your dad stabbed in the back in my first life, which I'll admit was probably the right choice as I was trying to kill our family. Second time your mom was the one who stabbed me to save your dad. The third time I was no more than a restless spirt and came to your dad for a final, honorable death. The guy freaked out and down right tried to kill himself out of exhaustion."

"I know that much from when I stole his memories with his semblance." Angela stated, dropping into a ready position. "Is it true that _Repentance_ was originally your weapon?"

"Yeah, it was." She sprung forward, beginning another bout. "You use it rather well for no training." A few seconds later they froze in place, the elder girls weapon less than an inch away from her opponent's chest. "But you still need to work on it more."

"That's why you came back, right?" This time Angela started the fight, thrusting her blade as she lunged forward. Carmon deflected the attack and swung at her head. Angela ducked and tried to sweep her aunts feet out from under her, missing since she jumped. Angela blocked a slash from the right attempting to land one of her own. Carmon slide on the grass to avoid it, nocking Angela down wit ha heavy strike of wood against shins.

"No, not really. I came back because I took an interest in you." Carmon spun her weapon and jumped away as the girl got to her feet.

"Me?" Angela asked.

"Yeah, you. I can't explain why, but the sight of you when you were little was so angelic that it reminded me of myself when I was little." Carmon was smiling like a little kid as she was scratching the back of her head. Angela wondered how this woman before her was once the spawn of satan. "So anyway, what's new in the land of the living?" The pair rushed towards each other, reengaging in combat.

"Nothing much to report other than what you already know." Angela replied casually, throwing eight consecutive attacks in just under a second. "You seen dad yet?"

"What do you mean? Isn't he still alive?" Carmon blocked a solid hit from the younger girl and kicked, missing as Angela side stepped.

"No. He died yesterday to Max's sword." Angela ducked down and swept her halberd at Carmon's feet, finishing by spinning the weapon over her head and landing a strike on her target's back before she could touch the ground.

"I didn't know that." Carmon said as she rubbed her back. "The guy was pretty much immortal if you asked me."

"He only made it look as if he was trying." Angela explained. "His moves were rather sluggish and sloppy compared to the videos of the great Grimm war." She took a few steps back before readying her weapon again. "Shall we continue?"

Carmon seemed to debate it for a few more seconds before shaking her head. "You're good enough at this point to finish his plan."

Both combatant's weapons disappeared in unison and they bowed to each other. "I hit you once. Does that mean I get to learn one of the many secrets you've been hiding?" Angela asked smugly.

A wide smile spread across Carmon's face. "I did promise that, didn't I?" Angela nodded, a carbon copy of the smile appearing on her own lips. "Fine. One hit, one answer."

Angela thought for a moment before she spoke again. "Find dad and learn the truth. Find out if he really died, and ask him why."

"And what makes you think he's alive? You watched him die."

"I want to say it's intuition. I want to say I think I know what his plan is. But in reality, I just want to go back to the life I had before all this mess. A life were my dad was there to make everything work out in the end."

Carmon's face softened. "In the end, you're still a kid huh? Oh well, I'll see what I can find. Wait for me until then, my little niece." And then she was gone.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;:::::::::::::::::::

"Did you really need to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Go and die. It's not like you to lie to your own family."

"They will know in due time. In the end, they can go back to having the family they desired for the past few years."

"Are you planing on going back to them?"

"Maybe. When the job is done, I might make another appearance. I want to have my peace too, and it won't be as easy as a warrior death."

"You make it sound as if you still have a lot of work to do."

"I guess I do in a way. But it all comes down to what Max can do."

"Sounds lazy to me."

"Like I can do anything in my current state. You know, that reminds me of something. Why are you still here?

"The devil wouldn't let me back into hell. Apparently you lost him quite a bit of money back in the day."

"Then why not go to Chris? I could ask him to reevaluate you."

"Eh, I think I'll stick around till this ends. The same as your still teaching Max, I have a few things to pass onto Angela."

"You two getting along?"

"Yeah. She's gotten good enough to land a nice heavy hit on me."

"You know her semblance allows her to memorize and recreate everything she sees, right?"

"Oh, no fair! That's totally cheating!"

 **Hey readers, it's the author. Thanks for reading so far into the story. Not many people actually read this one, but I enjoy writing this story than most. So I would like to thank you all who have kept up to date, and I should tell you that this one will be ending soon. Follow and favorite if you haven't, and leave a comment bellow!**


	14. Chapter 14: final days till d-day

Max walked down the hall to Adam's office, his sword on his belt and a determined look in his eyes. After three days of rest after his father's death, he had been called in by Adam and his advisers. Little did he know, Max had been trained each night even further by his father, bringing his strength up to the point were he and Angela were at a stalemate. Made it far easier since once he learned it in his head his natural affinity for his Daybreak which practically transferred his thoughts into motion allowed him to use it immediately.

"Not even I had this much power at your age." His dad admitted when he had been sent flying from a rather powerful blow from Max. "I'll have to admit I'm glad you're only fighting a thought projection of me. If this was my physical body your sword would have gone right through my aura and cut me in half."

"Your sword did so too?" Max asked, copying his dad's twirl of a sword. The man nodded, a look of pride glowing on his face as he looked up to his son from the ground. "This would be the time the three of us would be rushing off to save mom, huh?"

John smiled sadly as he got to his feet with the help of his son. "I learned a hard lesson that day." The man said in a defeated tone. "No matter how much you plan, no matter how hard you train, and no matter how hard you wish, there is always a line you can't cross. My line is you guys." He suddenly hugged Max, a feeling of loneliness and love flowing through them from their mental connection. "And I have to say, I am proud of it, as I am proud of you."

Max nocked on the door of the study, stealing himself from what he has to do. "Come in." A voice called from in the study.

Max straightened, turning the knob and opening the door. "You summoned, sir?" Max said respectfully, bowing as he entered. The red head didn't look up from his desk as he entered, carefully examining multiple papers laid across his desk.

"I have something of importance to discuss with you." Adam pushed a list of names and characteristics across the table for him to see. "Here's an up to date record of currently active huntsmen in the city of vale. This is where you came from, so I have no doubt that you know a few. I would like your input on their personal abilities that aren't in the report." The man set his eyes on Max, judging his reaction carefully.

Max picked up the paper and read through it, scanning the names. Adam knew him better than he originally thought, fore the list contained only the names of hunters that were directly linked to his dad. But there was one name missing.

 _Good idea_. Max wasn't at all surprised by his dad's voice in the back of his head since the man had set up permanent residents with him. _Don't tell him anything that can hurt to badly though._

Alright. Max placed the paper back on the deck before speaking. "Lucas Cain is probably the most notable on this list. His semblance allows him to sharpen his vision at will. The report is inaccurate, however, in the fact that says he has a near perfect accuracy. He doesn't miss unless he isn't trying. I would suggest not engaging him. Oh, and don't touch his family or else it will turn into another massacre like with my dad."

"Ruby Rose isn't that high of a threat though. The biggest problem is she and her team are a close nit pack even when not on duty and have an uncanny ability to get together at the moments notice. One of the most balanced teams out there, I would suggest not trying to take them all on at the same time."

"Team CRDL is a force to be reckoned with. Their strength isn't over exaggerated, but more than that I don't know to much on them since I never met them in person."

"Other than that, I'm unfamiliar with the rest of the names other than a few by name." Max waited patiently for a reaction from the leader of the white fang.

Adam seamed to turn over the info in his head for a bit before he spoke again. "You're information is satisfactory." He claimed. Max internally sighed in relief. "I recommend you prepare for departure." Max couldn't hide his surprise at this order, however, and Adam noticed.

"Why? Are we marching on remnant?" Max asked, worry seeping into his voice before he could stop it. "Are the new troops ready for such a campaign yet?"

"I won't deny that your worry is well placed," Adam said. "But that is why everyone is going. We're abandoning the island."

"That's not the point!" Max leaned on the desk, trying to see past the hawk mask and into the mans eyes. "We can't possibly take on Remnant with so few troops. We only have six, maybe seven hundred verses a few thousand."

"But we're not attacking remnant." Adam said calmly, resting his elbows on the desk and put his hands together. "We're going to hit them were their lies call home. We're attacking Vale."

Max felt a shiver run down his spine when Adam told him the target. They were no longer preparing for war. They were now openly marching on a path of destruction.

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"This is bad." Blake said, leaning on her coffee table and taking a sip out of her cup. "We have been keeping an eye on their movements from the inside, but we had estimated we had a few years. Not a few days."

Max sat on the floor across from his mother with his legs crossed, his sword resting on his lap. "Their loading the boats tonight. I've been ordered to give you a choice if you wish to stay or go." He said in a grim tone. "I am going to be at the tip of the formation when they launch the attack. If your going to go home, this will be the last time you'll get the chance."

"You act like you're ok with attacking your home." Kyra said disdainfully from her position, her back leaning against the wall.

"He's not." This time Angela spoke up, her posture slackened on the couch. "He has to be heartless in order to pull off his job. He can feel later." Max shot her a look of gratitude before it faded from existence.

 _So we all know the plan?_ John asked mentally. They all indicated they understood. _Good. Blake, you better hurry. Angela, Kyra, you need to go set up. Max, don't beat yourself up to hard. This will all fail if your not precise with your move._

"This whole thing would be so much easier if we had a monster on our side." Max commented, causing his dad to laugh.

 _I find that offensive._ Saphira chipped in from outside. _I am by far stronger and more beautiful than anything else in the world._ She shifted into just the right position outside the window to shine hundreds of tiny blue lights into the room with the midday sun.

Everyone in the room couldn't help but cheer up with the sight of the lights that peppered the room like a starry sky. Even Max, who had been stern and grim since he returned from Adam's office, cracked a grin.

"Do you ever feel like we're being watched?" Angela asked, scratching her head and glancing at the door.

 _yeah, he's still there._ John said. On the other side of the door was one of Adam's best covert agent sent to keep an eye on them, and that was why they had been using him as a go between for a mental conversation. _Max, your line._

 _"_ I don't know what your talking about." Max said grumpily, laying down on his side with his back to the door. "Mom, it's time for you to go. Just be gone by the time we get home." Blake nodded and got to her feet, leaving the room with a solum look. There was no one outside he door when she left, but their dad assured them that the spy was still nearby and listening.

Max closed his eyes, relaxing his body and going into a resting state. He was still awake, but he was just to lazy to move. In a way, it was the most peaceful moment he had had all day long.

"Come on Kyra. Let's go get something to eat." Just as she finished the sentence, a loud growling sound came from Angela's limp brother. "You should have some lunch too." Max rose to his sister's suggestion and followed them out, temporarily forgetting his responsibilities to his hunger. In the back of his head his dad mourned not being able to eat food anymore.

 **Hey guys, it's the author. As the story is building up till its final moments, I find myself with more time to devote to my writing. Look forward to more chapters coming real soon, and the reappearance of certain Rabbit siblings. Extra credit for anyone who can guess who by the time they read the next chapter.**


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